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MEMOIRS OF 

COLONEL SEBAvSTlAN BEAUMAN. 

AND HIS DESCENDANTS. 



PREFACE. 



The subject of the ensuing Memoir served 
his countr}' with honor and distinction 
throughout the entire war of the American 
Revolution, also in the French and Indian 
wars, under Washington. 



LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 

In the preparation of this History- the 
following works have been freeh' consulted 
and from some of them copious extracts have 
been taken; esj)ecially from the first named: 

Mrs. Quincy's Memoirs of Josiah Quincy. 

N. Y. Historical Society Eecords. 

Lossing's Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution. 

Due De Chastellux' Travels in North America. 

Documentary History of New York, Vol. III. 

Martha Lamb's History of New York. 

History of West Point, by Major Boynton. 

Harper's Magazine, October, 1871. 

Cosmopolitan Magazine, April 1889. 

Evacuation Day, 1783, by James Riker. 

Picturesque Washington. 

Major Shaw's Journals, by Josiah Quincy. 

History of Kingston, by Marius Schoonmaker. 

From the New York Records of the Revolution, at 
Washington, D. C. 

Proceedings of the Provincial Congress, and the New 
York Eecords, at Albany, N. Y. 






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MEMOIRS OF COLONEL SEBAS-- 
TIAN BEAUMAN. 



MILITARY RIXORUS OI' C()IJ)S}'.L SIUJAS'lIAN 
UKAUMAN. 

AL the: Xcvv York 11 isLoric'il Society 
R()(}]ns, the rollowin;^ is n-v.<>r<\<(] of Sebastian 
Bcaumnn: 

"Sehastinn I'eriuman — Major N. Y. Artil- 
lery, Horn ?it l'"r;tjikrort-on-the-Main, in 
Germany, on tlie f)tli of April, 1 7''>'), ;inrl fjierj 
in N. Y. City, r;n the 1 9tli of Oetoln-r, 180:i. 
He was edueated at Ileidelher;^ University as 
an Engineer and Artillerist in the Austrian ser- 
vice, f;ecoming a strict disci|)lin?jrian." 

It is claimed hy his family that his father, 
resiflin;:^ in the castle where Maria Theresa 
(Empress ofO^rrnany, Archduchess of Austria, 
and (^ueen of llun;^aryj held her court when 
at I'Vankfort, was associ;ited with her house- 
hold, lies was present, with his jjarents, at 
the coronation of the Ivm press, October 20, 
1740, and was held u\> in his father's arms to 
kiss the I'^mfiress on th;it occasion. 

lie came to America in eonserjuence of a 
duel and said to his mother, a Sf^anish lady, 
at parting: "You will hear from me, .'ind 1 will 

1 



2 MEMOIRS OF 

do honor to my name in the new country 

to which I go." 

He was an officer in the French and In- 
dian wars with Washington, and was a 
colonel under General Gage. His regiment 
was commended by Washington m 1 / 6 / . 

On the 11th of September, 1766, Colonel 
Sebastian Beauman married Anna Wetzell, of 

New York Citv. 

In May 1775, Sebastian Beauman was 
appointed captain of a mihtia company m 
New York, known as the "German Fusihers, 
which volunteered, on the 14th of September, 
in a regiment of Minute Men, known on the 
Continental Establishment as the 1st Regi- 
ment of New York Volunteers, Colonel John 
Lasher, of which, on the 21st he was acting 

as major. 

On the 30th of March, 17.6, he was ap- 
pointed in the permanent Continental service 
captain of a company of New York artillery, 
and attached to Colonel Henry Knox s Regi- 
ment, on the 19th of April following. He was 
on the 1st of January, 1777, transferred to the 
Second Regiment of Continental Corps of 
Artillery, Colonel Lamb's, and promoted to 
major on the 12th of September, 1778.T 

Major Beauman was in command ot West 
Point at intervals from 1779-84, and selected 
by Washington, 23rd of December, 1.83, on 

*Memoirs of Josiah Quiucy. 

i-New York Historical Society Records. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAU MAN. S 

the reduction of the army, to command 
the Battalion of Continental Artillery, retamed 
with which he served until honorably dis- 
charged, 20th of June, 1784. ,^, „ 

From the New York Records of the Revo- 
lution at Washington. D. C, the followmg 
appears. (Vol. 1, page 153). 

"Colonel Beauman joined with other New 
York Officers, on September 21, l^^f 'n a 
oetition to the Committee of Safety foi the 
Cvince of New York, praying for more gen- 
eral military training and disciphne. 

On page 224, "Major Sebastian Beau- 
man," is recorded among "other officers of the 
First Battalion of New York, who are wiUmg 
to enter into the service of their country. 

From page 302, it appears that a recruit- 
in., warrant was issued by the convention to 
Sebastian Beauman, Esqr., captam of a com- 
panv of artillery in the regiment commanded 
by Henry Knox, Esqr., March 30th, 1776. 

In the petition of John Doughty to the 
Senate and Assembly of New York, dated Sep- 
tember 1st, 1779, a certain company lately 
commanded by MajorBeauman,nowbyeapt. 
George Fleming," is referred to as bemg t« 
consimiU casu with Donghty's companjs 
which up to that time had not been adopted 
by the State, and was serving at its own ex- 
pense, and greatiy embarrassed thereby. The 
petition is, that these two companies might be 
taken into the service of the State, and have 



4 MEMOIRS OF 

the same benefits extended to them as to the 
other troops of the State. It appears from 
this petition that Alajor Beanman and his 
company armed and ecpiipped themselves, 
and served at first, entirely at their own ex- 
pense. 

The following is from the New York State 
Archives, at Washington, D. C, Vol. XV., pp. 
91-2. 

PKOCEKDINGS OF TIIK PKOVINCIAT. CONGRESS. 

Die Sabbati, icth H. A. JM ., March 30^ i-j^d. 

Major Sebastian Beanman having signi- 
fied his willingness to render any services in his 
power for the defence of the Liberties of this 
Country. This Committee, reposing Especial 
Confidence in his Patriotism, Valonr, Conduct 
and Fidelity, think him well (pudltied to Com- 
mand an Artillery Company in the Conti- 
nental Service; "Resolved and Ordered, that 
Sebastian Beanman, Ksq., be and he is hereby 
appointed Cai^tain of the Continental Com- 
pany of Artillery, ordered to be raised in this 
Colony, which company J\Ir. Beanman is 
hereby authorized and requested to enlist 
with all possible dis])atch." 

From the proceecUngs of the Provincial 
Congress, of April 11th, 1776, it appears that 
one Joseph Crane was appointed a lieutenant 
in the Continental company of artillery where- 
of Sebastian Beaiunan, Esq., was captain. Evi- 
dently Captain Beanman \vas not long iu 
raising his company. 



COLOXKL HEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. r, 

In the list of the New York Line, is the 
foliowin;^ — hcaumnn being the Bccond man 
mentioned: — Officers and soldiers of the Second, 
orXew York Regiment of Artillery: "lieauman, 
Sebastian, Major, succeeded in command of 
the company, fjy Capt. George Fleming " This 
list of the line was a private compilation of 
one Alexander Xeely, X. Y., clerk in the war 
department at Washington, and purchased of 
him in 1803, after the war department fire, 
by the State of Xew York, for a hundred acres 
of land in Cayuga County. It appears that 
lieauman and the immortal Hamilton were 
both originally captains in the same New 
York regiment of artillery. 

When the British took possession of New 
York City, September 1 5th, 1 776, Major Beau- 
man was the last man to leave the city. He 
was left with only eighty men, and tv/o howit- 
zers, vv'hich he got off at the risk of his life; the 
British had then two shipis of war in the 
stream. British officers quartered themselves 
in Beauman's house in the city, and his wife 
and three little daughters fled to West Point 
for protection, and the family were at West 
Point when the news reached them of Arnold's 
base treason, and Major Andre's capture, with 
the maps of the fortifications of the different 
posts in Andre's boots. The maps had been 
p>repared by Major Beauman for Washington's 
use, and were stolen b3' Arnold. 

These papers are now in the possession of 



6 MEMOIRS OF 

the state libraiy at Albany, in legible con- 
dition, showing the imprint of Andre's foot 
on some of the pajoers. The compiler of this 
histor^^ of Beatiman's life had the pleasure of 
seeing the papers there only a short time 
ago.* Those that were written on one side 
only, were pasted secureU' on heaY3^ paste- 
board for better protection, and all were 
secured in a massive walnnt frame; and thus 
carefulh^ protected, thej^ looked as though 
they might last for future ages to gaze upon. 

Major Beauman was at Valley Forge that 
hard winter, and furnished his troops w'ith 
shoes and clothes at the same time Lafa3'ette 
did. Later he pawned his plate, and silver of 
all kinds, to buy provisions for his famishing 
troops, paying a very large percentage from 
his own private funds. But he never tired 
fighting for his country. At one time he and 
Lafaj'ette were buried under the snow all one 
day and night. Washington sent scouts on 
the path they had taken, to hunt until they 
were found. When discovered they were more 
dead than alive. 

He was loved b3^ all his soldiers, idolized 
b}^ his raanj servants, respected and honored 
by all the officers, and by the General-in-chief 
especially. 

He was present at the surrender of Corn- 
wallis at Yorktown, and again made use of 
his professional skill in preparing for himself 

* October 10, 1894. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 7 

a "Map of Siege and Situation of York- 
town," which Washington and other officers 
requested him to engrave. (It was inserted 
by John Austin Stevens, with other interesting 
details of the victory, in the January, 1880, 
number of 'The Magazine of America'.") 

As Beauman was the last man to leave 
New York, September 15th, 1776, when the 
British took possession, he was the first to 
return at the head of the army, November 25, 
1783, bearing the American flag, which he or- 
dered planted on thebatter^' before the British 
left the harbor. 

Beauman "was also colonel of the State 
Regiment of Artillery in New York from 1 785 
until it assisted in depositing his hody — Octo- 
ber 23, 1803 — wrapped in the American Flag, 
in the Dutch church3'ard at the corner of Nas- 
sau and Liberty streets, which honored land- 
mark, in the city's progress, was taken dovvm." 

His name appears on the Half-pay roll. 
He Vk^as one of the original members of the 
Society of the Cincinnati, and his certificate 
and badge of the societ}^ are now in the pos- 
session of his onl3^ living grandson, Sebastian 
Beauman Doll,* of Napanoch, Ulster Co., N. 
Y. His military commissions and the sword 
and sash he wore throughout the Revolution- 
ary War, are now in the possession of one of 
his descendants, Mrs. Anna Vanderpool Vail, 

♦Since Deceased. 



8 MEMOIKS OF 

of Baltimore, Md., also a small pair of gold 
scissors, presented to a member of the family 
by Martha Washington. 

Mrs. E. W. Fairchild, of Monticello, N. 
Y., is the possessor of a sword Colonel Beau- 
man captured from a British officer, during the 
War of the Revolution. 

"Beauman was appointed the first federal 
postmaster, in New York City, by Washing- 
ton in 1789, which position he held with credit 
until his death, October 19, 1803. 

"The post-office was kept in the house of 
Colonel Beauman, on William Street; one room, 
twent3'-fiYe by thirty-five feet, and containing 
about one hundred boxes, was where the mail 
was distributed . This post-office was enlarged 
to accommodate the demands of the increasing 
population, but it remained in the same place 
imtil 1821." 

Harpers' Magazine of Oct., 1 871, speaking 
of the old post-office says: "William Bedlow 
was the first postmaster after the close of 
the war, as his name appears in that connec- 
tion in 1785; but in the succeeding j^ear (1786) 
Sebastian Beauman was postmaster, as 
shown in the first directory of the city ever pub- 
lished, in which we find 926 names of citizens, 
the members of Congress, etc. 

"The income of the New York post-office 
the first 3^ear (1786) was $2,789.84, and from 
this amount as a starting point can be cor- 
rectly estimated the annual increase of the 
postal business of New York Citv. 

"On the 30th of April, 1789, Washington 
was inaugurated President, and the establish- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 9 

ment of the general post-office as now organ- 
ized immediateh^ followed. Samuel Osgood 
was appointed Postmaster General and as- 
sumed his duties in the city of New York, un- 
der the tuition of Sebastian Beauman. What 
should be done with this important official 
was evidenth" a subject of congressional dis- 
«"ussion; for we find officially recorded that 
'the Postmaster General shall not keep an^-- 
office separate from the one in which the mails 
arriving in New York are opened and distrib- 
uted, that he ma\^ by his presence prevent ir- 
regularities, and rectify mistakes which may 
occur.' " 

In fact, this now most important officer 
of the general government, and his solitarj^ as- 
sistant and one clerk, had nothing to do, so 
they took their first lessons in the service in 
the post-office of the cit^^ of New York. 

At this time there were throughout the 
United States seventy-five legally established 
post-offices, and one thousand eight hundred 
and vSeventy-five miles of post-office routes. 

In a verj" short time the national capital 
was transferred to Philadelphia, which had 
three penny-post carriers where New York had 
one; suggestive data of the comparative im- 
portance of the two cities at that time. The 
southern, or Philadelphia mail left Ne\v York 
daily, the eastern mail tri- weekly, special mails 
for New Jersej^ and Long Island, once a week. 
Mails to Albany were carried on horseback, 
contractor's remuneration being the "postage 
collected." 



10 MEMOIRS OF 

Colonel Sebastian Beauman died in 1803, 
and his successor, Josias Ten Eyck, after what 
\Yas to the public probably an uneventful 
3^ear, gave way to General Theodorus Bailey, 
who received the appointment Januar\^ 2nd, 
1804, and who satisfactorily^ performed the 
duties of that office for nearly a quarter of a 
centur3^ 

At this point it maj- not be amiss to insert 
some post-office receipts given to Colonel Beau- 
inan during his term of office as postmaster of 
New York City. 

"General Post Office. 

"October 7, 1799. 
^^Dear Sir: 

"I have receii^ed j'our Letter of 
the 30th ult., enclosing l^hree Thousand dol- 
lars which Sum is to j^our Credit in the Books 
of this office. 

'T am Sir 
"Yours Sincereh^ 
"Chas. Bursall, 
"Asst. P. M. G. 
"Sebastian Beauman, Esquire." 

"New York, Nov. 5th, 1799. 
"Received of Sebastian Beauman, Esquire, 
Two Thousand five hundred and eighty-seven 
dollars and eightj^-one Cents on account of the 
Post Office at New York. 
"2,587.^ Dollars. 

"Chas. Bursall, 

"Asst. P. M. G." 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 11 

"Notice of the Arrivals and Departures of 
the Mails at the Post Office in New York, 1786. 

ARRIVALS. 

FROM NEW ENGLAND AND ALBANY. 

FROM NOVEMBER IST TO MAY IST. 

On Saturday- at seven o'clock P. M. 

FROM MAY 1st TO NOVEMBER IST. 

On Tuesday, Thursdaj^ and Saturday 
at eight o'clock P. M. 

FROM THE SOUTHWARD. 

F^ROM NOVEMBER IST TO MAY IST. 

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday 
at nine o'clock P. M. 

DEPARTURES. 

FOR NEW ENGLAND AND ALBANY. 

FROM NOVEMBER IST TO MAY IST. 

On Sunda^^, Tuesday and Thursday at 
ten o'clock P. M. 

FOR THE SOUTHWARD. 

FROM NOVEMBER IST TO MAY IST. 

On Sundaj' and Thursday at two 
o'clock P.M. 

FROM MAY 1st TO NOVEMBER IST. 

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday 
at five o'clock P. M. 

*^* Letters must be in the office half an 
hour before closing." 

Congress in those early da^'s was more 
considerate of the personal comfort of the 
post-office clerks than at the present time. 

The follo^ving letter from Mrs. AL C. 
Tappen corroborates the foregoing: 



12 MEMOIRS OF 

''Brooklyn, April 17, 1S76. 
"I have in my possession a Punch 
Bowl inherited by nie from my mother, the 
eldest daughter of Colonel Sebastian Bauman, 
a Revolutionary officer, and the first Federal 
Post Master of New York. 

"We have always called it the Washington 
Bowl, from the circumstance that General 
Washington has frequently drunk from it as 
he was a most intimate friend of Washington, 
and was associated with him during the 
Avhole war; their families were on most inti- 
mate terms, residing near each other at West 
Point, Morristown and Hanover, Long Is- 
land. AYhile the war was continued at that 
time this bowl was used on many occasions, 
one of which was a fete given b\' Colonel Bau- 
man to General LaFa3'ette at West Point. 

"Colonel Bauman was a most accom- 
plished gentleman, and a proficient Military 
officer. He was appointed Post Master at 
New York by Washington in 1780 and re- 
tained the office until his death, Oct. 19th, 
1803. 

"Washington was a frecpient visitor at 
his house during his presidencN', as well as 
the most noted men of that day. General La 
Fayette, Baron Stuben, General Knox, Aaron 
Burr, Alexander Hamilton, the DePuysters 
and many other prominent men. 

"Over this bowl the Erie Canal was 
planned betw^een Colonel Bauman and DeWitt 
Clinton. In my own family we have drunk 
punch from it for over thirty years every -Ith 
of Juh^ I prize this relic highly from its many 
associations. 

"(Mrs.) Maria C. Tappen." 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 18 

In 1790 there were but seventy-five post- 
offices in the United States and in 1 807 there 
were 75,000 post-offices, and the money now- 
spent by the Government each year for the 
support of the post-offices would have more 
than paid the national debt at the close of the 
I^evolutionary War. 

"By the Constitution of the United States, 
Congress was given the right to establish 
post-offices and post-roads. The office ot 
Postmaster General was created in 1789, and 
the General Postoffice was established in 1794-. 
On the 2nd of March, 1799, Congress passed 
an act to establish the General Postoffice in 
Washington. The Department has had a 
wonderful growth. Fifty years ago* (1888 
the present writing) there were 10,693 post- 
offices throughout the country, and the reve- 
nue from them was only $2,823,749. At pres- 
ent there are 47,80.') post-offices, and the year- 
ly revenue of the department is over $45,000,- 
000. To carry on the postal service requires 
the assistemce of 07,000 persons. 

"The Postmaster General, who has the 
supervision of the affairs of the Postoffice De- 
partment is a member of the Cabinet and re- 
ceives $8,000 per year. There are three as- 
sistant postmasters general appointed b}' the 
President, who receive $4,000 each. 

"No department of the government is 
better managed than that of the post- 
office. The details of the immense business 
are thoroughly attended to, its expenditures 
are usually ver^' judicious, and its working 

♦1888 



14 MEMOIRS OF 

system is constantly being" improved to meet 
the public requirement." * 

(See Picturesquo AVashington.l 

As a disciplinarian and a brave soldier 
Major Beannian ranked high, his services to 
his country were invaluable. Our regulars 
were never beaten in a fair figlit after their dis- 
cipline at Valley Forge. 

Johnston, in his "Siege of Yorktown," 
says that the American artillery commanders. 
General Knox, Colonel Lamb, Lieutenant Col- 
onels Stevens and Carrington and Alajor 
Beauman amazed both the French and English 
by their skill, and that they were ecjual to the 
best of the European soldiers. Johnston also 
says that Beauman's map is by far the most 
accurate and highly llnished map, and that 
the later ones are copies of it. 

The British at one time made an attempt 
to assassinate Major Beauman in a tent at 
West Point, where he had commanded at in- 
tervals for four or five years during the War of 
the Revolution. 

Major Shaw, aid-de-camp to General 
Knox, and engaged to Major Beauman's eld- 
est daughter, Maria, afterward related the 
circumstance to Major Beaunmn's family. 

Beauman had refused to take a couple of 

*In ISi'ii tho Fostortioe department directod the 7.">,"i70po<t-otVices, mus- 
tered aa ani\y of iOO.iOO employe*, spent ifU\'),0(iO,i.HX\ and eounted receipts of 
nearly the same amount. iSee "The Cosmopolitan" for May, is;';'.'* 

"When Timothy Pickerins; served as Posniiaster Weneral In Wash- 
ington's administratiou, his balance shi-et of expenditures and receipts for a 
whole quarter of a year showed an aggregate ol $t>S,iH.Xi. which is the expendi- 
ture of every six hours now." 



C0L0NP:L SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 16 

cannon from West Point and put on Arnold's 
sloop oi war, mistrusting Arnold's patriotism 
from the first day he was put in command at 
West Point, which the following correspon- 
dence will verify: 

''West Point, 20 Sept., 17S0. 
"In the evening. 
^^ Dear Sir: 

"You must have two 12-poundcrs 
placed in the batteries around Fort Willets, 
with a proper security of cannon under quar- 
ters. 

"Your humble Servant 
"Knox. 
"Robison House. 

"Alajor Bauman." 

"To General Knox, 

"West Point, 28 Sept., 17S0. 
''(Dear General: 

"Agreeable to your letter to me, 
dated the night before last 9 o'clock I made 
the best disposition possible considering the 
late hour, 12 o'clock at night, in which I re- 
ceived your order. 

"I have kept both officers and men on their 
respective alarm posts during the night. I 
had 2 12-pounders carried early this morning 
to Willets redoubt: I could not do it yester- 
da}'. Your letter came to me for that pur- 
pose, in the dark of the evening. I have now 
every battery in order. All the implements 
placed toever^^gun. The ammunition I shrdl 
retain in the magazine until the time of alarm, 
for there is no proper place on the different 
batteries for the security of the ammunition, 



16 MEMOIRS OF 

nor artillery' men enougli to guard the same 
from being stolen, which would be the case, 
should I place ammunition on the dift'erent 
batteries before it is needed. I am not at all 
sorry ot what has happened, because I am glad 
of its timely discovery. For it does plainly ap- 
pear that there is a guardian Angel who 
watches over this country-, and his Excellency, 
and that imperceptible to millions who dwell 
in it, and General Arnold has but a poor idea 
of this place. Which I can assure 3'ou, after all 
his inquiries of its particular strength, and the 
weakest part of it. For his head appeared to 
me bewildered from the first moment he took 
command here. Which, however, I thought to 
proceed from an over avaricious disposition, 
which I found to be his ruling passion, more so 
than any Military officer on duty here. There- 
fore I am very little apprehensive of his doing 
us any harm in this quarter unless he is too 
much acc^uainted with the operations of the 
Cabinet. But should you really think the en- 
emies' designs to be bent this wa}^ I would 
advise for one or more companies of Artillery'- 
to be ordered here. For there is not men 
enough for everj'thing in this place. 

"I am with profound respect Dr. Gen'l 

"Your most obedient and very 
humble servant 

"S. Bauman, Maj. 

"Comd't. of Artillery. 



'To General Knox." 
''Dear Sir: 



<»o 



Sept. 28, 1780. 



"I received 3^our favor of 3'esterday 
and am liapp^^ in 3'our assurance that every- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 17 

thing in the ordnance department in the re- 
doul)t and batteries is in the best order. 

"I have onh' to request that they shall be 
kept in the most perfect readiness to action. 
"I am dear sir 
*'Your humble servant 

"Knox. 
"Major Banman," 

Copy of papers found in Andre's book. 

"West Point, September 5th, 1780 

"Artiller}' Orders — The following dispo- 
sition of the corps is to take place in case of 
an alarm: 

"Captain Daniells with his Company at 
Fort Putnam, and to detach an officer with 12 
men to Wjdlys's Redoubt, a Non Commission- 
ed Officer with 3 men to Webb's Redoubt, and 
the like number to Redouljt No. 4 

"Captain Thomas and Compan^^ to Fort 
Arnold, Captain Simmons and Conipan\^ to 
remain at the North and South Redoubt, at 
the East side of the River until further orders. 
Lieutenant Barber, with 20 men of Captain 
Jackson's Company will repair to Constitu- 
tion Island, the remainder of the Company 
vv'-ith Lieutenant Mason's will repair to Ar- 
nold, Captain George and Lieutenant Blake, 
with 20 men of Captain Tread well's Com- 
pan3% will repair to Redoubts No. 1 and 2; 
the remainder of the Company- will be sent to 
Fort Arnold. 

"Lieut. Jones's Company, with Lieutenant 
Fish, to repair to the South Batter^^ 

"The Chain Batter3% Sherburn's Redoubt, 
and the Brass Field pieces will be manned 
from Fort Arnold, as occasion maj' require. 



18 MEMOIRS OF 

"The Commissar^' and Conductor of Mil- 
itar\^ Stores will in turn wait tipon the Com- 
manding Officer of Artillery for Orders. 

"The Artificers in the garrison (agi'ceable 
to former orders) will repair to Fort Arnold 
and there receive further orders from the Com- 
manding Officer of Artillery. 

"S. Bauman, 
''Major Comm't Artillery." 

"As this document gave the British full in- 
formation of what would be the disposition of 
the American troops on the occasion; and as 
Sir Henry Clinton and many of his officers 
were acquainted with the ground, they would 
know at what particular points to make their 
attacks. 

"Two of the documents found in Andre's 
boots are in Arnold's handwriting, and one in 
the handwriting of Yillcfranche, a French 
engineer." 

(Lossing's Field l?ook of the Revolution.) 

The following letter is written b\' Ar- 
nold's aid-de-camp, Richard D. Yarick, and ad- 
dressed to Major Beamnan. The letter is 
dated: 

"Headouarters Robinson House, 
"September Sth, 1780. 
"^/>.- 

"Col. Livingston commanding at King's 
Ferry in a letter of the Gth informs the Gener- 
al that the Gin which was at that Post is 
taken away with the Main Army; that he has 
not the means of removing the pieces of ord- 
nance from his posts in Case it should on an 
emergency, be deemed expedient. 



20 MEMOIRS OF 

"West Point, April 17, 17S1. 
''Sir: 

"In order to make the matter as short as 
possible which again has been enjoined to me 
respecting your profession in the art of gnn- 
n' .y, Yott are to fire onl}^ two shells, with 
what charge of powder you please, at an ele- 
vation of 45 Degrees, and two others, one 
above, one IjcIow 45 at what angle of eleva- 
tion 3^ou please, the time of flight to be ascer- 
tained by calculation. 

"You will also fire five shells from an 
eight-inch Howitzer, at different elevations, 
and with what charge of Powder 3'ou please, 
the time of flight to be likewise ascertained 
by calculation, either on ascent, descent, or the 
horizon. 

"You are at liberty, in order to ascertain 
the strength of the Powder, you may fire the 
above number of dead shells with any given 
charge of pow^der you mean to fill the live 
shells with which you must fire the day after 
to-morrow if the \veather will permit it, for I 
have received orders to have it deferred no 
longer by you. You will therefore let me 
know how many Artillery men you may want 
that I ma}^ give orders accordingl_v. 

"I am sir your most humljle servant, 

"S. Bauman, 
"Major Com'd of Artillery." 

Lieutenant Ford to Major Beauman. 

"MoRRivSTOWN, March 5, 1781. 
''Dear Major: 

"I am yet here and the business I came on 
unsettled, the Commissioners are about my 
business now, and next week I expect to go to 



20 MEMOIRS OF 

"West Point, April 17, 1781. 
''Sir: 

"In order to make the matter as short as 
possible which again has been enjoined to me 
respecting your profession in the art of gun- 
ner\'. You are to lire only two shells, \vith 
what charge of powder you please, at an ele- 
vation of 45 Degrees, and two others, one 
above, one below 4-5 at what angle of eleva- 
tion A'oti please, the time of flight to be ascer- 
tained bA' calculation. 

"You will also lire live shells from an 
eight-inch Howitzer, at difterent elevations, 
and with Avhat charge of Powder you please, 
the time of flight to be likewise ascertained 
by calculation, either on ascent, descent, or the 
horizon. 

"You are at liberty, in order to ascertain 
the strength of the Powder, you may lire the 
above number of dead shells with any given 
charge of powder you mean to flll the live 
shells with which you must fire the day after 
to-morrow if the weather will permit it, for I 
have received orders to have it deferred no 
longer by you. You will therefore let me 
know how many Artillery men you may want 
that I may give orders accordingly. 

"I am sir vour most humble servant, 

"S. Bauman, 
"Major Com'd of Artillery." 

Lieutenant Ford to Major Beauman. 

"MoRRiSTOWX, March 5, 1781. 
''Dear Major: 

"I am yet here and the business I came on 
unsettled, the Commissioners are about my 
business now, and next week I expect to go to 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 21 

Trenton to the Treasurer and receive the 
mone3', as soon after m\^ return as possible 
I shall proceed to West Point — We have noth- 
ing new here except L- Cornwallis is mak- 
ing large strides towards Virginia, it is Ex- 
pected to join the Infamous Arnold. General 
Greene is retreating before him, ]3y the last ac- 
counts he v^as on the borders of Virginia. I 
wish he may lead himself into a premunition 
he may not easih^ escape from, 

"My compliments to Mrs. Bauman and 
family and the Gen- of the Corps. 

"I am Dr. Maj- Your humble Servant 

"C. Ford. 
"Major Bauman." 

"Baltimore, Sept. 6, 1781. 
''Sir: 

"You will take charge particularly of the 
Border ship and go in her. You will proceed 
down the Bay with the fleet under the com- 
mand of Gen. Clinton to whom you will 
apply upon saiy emergencies and further direc- 
tions, On your arrival wherever the fleet is 
destined, You will give notice to Gen. Knox 
(an ofiicer commanding the American Artil- 
lery) of your arrival and there await the 
orders for the stores to be landed. Should 
the Infantrj^ disembark before you receive or- 
ders where the stores are to be landed 3'ou 
will collect all the vessels which have stores 
aboard and wait for orders. 

"You will also take care of the Schooner 
which came here from (the name is obliterated 
by ravages of time) and convej^ her with 3'ou. 

"S. Bauman, 

"Major of the 2nd Brigade of Artiller3\ 
"To Lieutenant Ford." 



22 MEMOIRS OK 

'*Wrst Point, Feb. 1, 1780. 
''Sir: 

"'j^lic Bearer of this will deliver you two 
Iron 12-])ouii(lers, bein»i: part and the last of 
the Stores wliieh is to i;'o iVoni here to b"'ort 
Sehuyler. 

"The day 1)efore yesterday I sent five 
sledi^^es loaded with loose Balls — yesterday six- 
teen loaded with aninuinition and imple- 
ments, with a eonductor who is directcv. to 
deliver the whole to you. 

"Today I sent the above mentioned ean- 
tion to Fishkill landini;- by desire of Col. Hay, 
who, whenever two sledges ean be had for 
that purpose, is to forward them to Albany, 
to whom I likewise direeted this letter to be 
given to one of the drivers, with injimetion to 
hand the same to 3^011 at their arrived with 
the cannon at Albany. 

"S. Baitman, 
"Major Comm'cU Artillery. 
"P. S. Please to let me know if all comes 
safe to hand. 

"To Col. Rensrdier, Commissary of Stores 
at Al])any." 

Colonel Beauman was at West Point as 
early as 1771), whieh the following* correspon- 
dence with Colonel Landj will verify: 

"Fort Arnold, June 7, 1779. 
"* * * * 1 should be exceedingly obliged 
to you if you could procure me a Horseman's 
Tent as 1 am without Quarters, without any 
Bedding, and sometimes without eating, and 
if nature had not provided Water (which is in 
great plenty here) would be without drink 

"S. Bauman." 



COLON lOIi SIOBASri AN JilOAIJMAN. 2'.i 

A^ain lie s.'iys: 

"Whst 1\)Int, June 'M), 1771) 

"I should be exceed iii^^^ly li.'Li)i>y if you 
co'dd j)«'iy me a visit. I have at ])resent 
jiiiddliii/j^ ^(>()(\ (juarters. I could accomo- 
date you in a manner so as to nllord you a 
night's lodp^in;:^, and give you Continental 
fare. As for iitjuors, I have none, my daily 
drink is water which I think rather hard for a 
man in years, and wlio is on continual fa- 
tigue, and who never before experienced so 
mean nutriment * * * ♦ 

"S. lUUMAN." 
(lijiiiih Mhh., N. v., I[iH. Col.) 

Beauman's crest is a very nol)Ie one. It 
shows tliat he is ofroyrd descent, as it repre- 
sents the imperial eagle of Austria, crowned, 
gazing at the "Sun in hisSplendr)r" and grasp- 
ing a bow with his talons. 

THE BEAUMAN CREST. 



v5,o 



24 MEMOIRS OF 

Due Do Chastelleux in liis book of 
"Travels in America," describes his astonish- 
iiieiil, in visitini;- Major Beamnan at West 
Point, at "secins^-, in tlic wilderness, such re- 
iined and beautiful women, and such nicely 
furnished rooms with line enL:,ravinL;s on the 
walls." It makes him think he is in Europe. 

Major Beauman to Governor Clinton. 
"West Point, l^H Au-'t. 1783. 

"It is stron<4iy su<.^gested that the British 
are about to leave New York, and that part 
of the infantry now on the line are to march 
into the City as soon as it is evacuated. I 
am therefore recjuested by the officers of the 
two remaining- Companies of the New York 
reL;iment of Artillery to solicit your Bxeellen- 
cv that they nuLiht be included in having the 
honor to take possession of the Metropolis in 
case our troops shouhl be ordered lor that 
purpose. 

"The only State trooi)s in the event (the 
name is obliterated by age) would think 
themselves highly honored should your Excel- 
lency intercede for us on this occasion. 

"One Ca|)t-, Lieutenant, one Subaltern, 
one Sergeant, one Corp. and twenty (the 
names again obliterated) are tmder marching 
orders to go to Oswego. 

"1 have the Honor to be with great esteem 
"Your Excellencies 

"Most obe'd- and very 
"lunnble Ser'nt, 

"S. Bauman, 
"Maj. Artillery. 
"Governor Clinton." 



JOLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 2T> 

"November 25th, 1783, the day the Brit- 
ish evacuated the city of New York, wavS a 
cold, frosty, but clear and brilliant morning. 
The American troops under (General Knox, who 
had come down from West Point and en- 
camped at Harlem, marched to Bowery Lane, 
and halted at the ])resent junction of Third 
Avenue and the Bowery. There they re- 
mained until about one o'clock in the after- 
noon, when the British left their posts in that 
vicinity and marched to Whitehall (as the 
British claimed the ri^ht of possession until 
noon of that day.) The American troops fol- 
lowed, and before three o'clock General Knox 
took formal possession of Fort George, amid 
the acclamations of the vast multitude of 
emancipated free men, who had returned to 
their desolated homes in the City, and the roar 
of Artillery upon the Battery." 

(LoHBing's Field Book of tlie Kovolutiori.) 

Bcauman, Major Commandant of Artil- 
lery, (under General Knox) ^ave the order to 
haul down the British flag and hoist the 
American flag on the Battery fjcfore the Brit- 
ish left the harbor, which was executed with 
marvelous skill and adroitness bj- a young 
sailor, John Van Ausdale, who with cleats, 
nails and a hammer, also tying a halyard 
about his waist, made the perilous ascent, for 
the Tories had not only knocked off all the 
cleats and unreeved the halyards, but had 
greased the shaft, and nailed the British flag 
to the flag-staff. The fifty ships constituting 
the English fleet were already moving down 



26 MEMOIRS OF 

the bay but before they got out of sight the 
American flag was proudly floating to the 
breeze where the British flag had so recently 
flaunted over them. 

Washington repaired to his quarters at 
the tavern of Samuel Fraunces, and there dur- 
ing the afternoon Governor Clinton gave a 
public dinner to the officers of the army, and 
in the evening the town was brilliantly illum- 
inated, Major Beauman having charge of the 
fireworks. 

The troops entered the cit^^ from the 
Bower3^ through Chatham Street. Washing- 
ton and his staff and Governor Clinton and 
the state officers soon afterward made a pub- 
lic entry. 

Letter from Major S. Shaw to Mr. and 
Mrs. Beauman. 

"The permission granted me b3' the par- 
ents of nn^ beloved Maria has loeen attended 
with that effect which a consciousness of the 
rectitude of my intentions induced me to hope 
for. While I thank you, my dear friends, for 
this instance of partiality in my favor, I think 
it incumbent to add that your amiable daugh- 
ter has consented to be mine. I am no less 
hers by the indissoluble tics of affection and 
principle. 

''Under the painful idea that a temporary 
separation must shorth^ take place, It aftbrds 
me great relief, that by remaining with you 
she will reap every benefit that is to be de- 
rived from the tenderness and attention of the 



CQLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 27 

best of parents. On m}' return I promise my- 
self the happiness of /giving- my hand to her, 
wh.j has the entire possession of my heart, — 
and that I shall then be allowed to eall the 
parents of my lovely Maria those of their 
obliged and grateful 

"S. vShaw. 

"West Point, 
"3d August, 1783. 
"Mr. and Mrs. Bauman." 

Letter from Major S. Shaw to Miss Beau- 
man. 

"'How fares my lovely Maria' — is a con- 
sideration ever uppermost in the heart of her 
faithful and affectionate Shaw. Could I be 
told that you are in health — that you are 
happy — the satisfaction I feel in being thus far 
on my voyage could be commuted into the 
most perfect felicity. 

"At such an almost infinite distance, it is 
very uncertain whether any letter from me can 
reach you. But I cannot prevail on myself to 
omit a single opportunity, however remote. 
After a pleasant passage, we came to anchor 
at Princes Island, in the Strait of Florida, left 
Saturday evening, having seen neither land 
nor a sail since we left St. Jago, one of the 
Cape de Verde Islands, sixteen wrecks ago, 
from which place I wrote by the way of His- 
panolia and Lisbon. Have an^^ of those si- 
lent messengers told their errand to my dear- 
est girl— and is it possible that the present 
will find their \vay? 

"They must take a circuitous route from 
this to Batavia — thence back to Holland, and 



28 MEMOIRS OF 

SO on to their journey's end. If thc^v arc not 
expeditions I may get the start of them. 

"We are so fortunate as to find liere a 
French ship going directly to Canton, the 
Captain of which has been there eleven times. 
The behavior of himself and his officers to- 
Avard us, is marked with that politeness and 
friendship which so eminently distinguished 
his nation in all their communication with 
ours — and the\^ give us ever}' assurance of be- 
ing serviceable to iis to the utmost of their 
power. 

*'We sail together tomorrow morning, 
and hope to accomplish the remaining part of 
our voyage in about three weeks. 

"Kandall desires a remembrance with 
3''OU. Hitherto m^^ amiable iriend, ever3^thing 
goes well. I have not had one hour's sickness 
since leaving New York. Our prospects are 
flattering and I hope, with the blessing of 
Heaven, to rejoice in a happy meeting with 
3'ou in ten or twelve months. 

"Present me most affectionately to our 
dear parents, and sisters, uncle and aunt, 
Michael, Matty, &c, &c — and believe me, ni\'' 
dearer self, that while 1 am, I can be but thine, 
and thine onlv. 

"S. Shaw. 
"Wednesday, 21 July, 1784." 

Letter from Major Shaw to Mr. and Mr». 
Beanman, 

'''My Dear Mr. and Mrs. Baiiuian: 

"The friendship and affection I shall 
ever entertain for you, and which I am 
happy in knowing is reciprocate, would in- 
duce me to write you a very long letter on 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 29 

this occasion, were it not that our friend Ran- 

Pleasure^of \ 7 '^' '^''^'^ '^"^ -^" ^^^- he 
pleasure of telhng you everything resnecHnor 

say that the world goes tolerably well w?th 
us, and our prosoects at-t^ o-^^ i t • 

shall ever regard thf-m w^ a ,. ^ 

^od-dauLditer^ T 1 1,^''^ ^""^'^ '"^y ^'^^^^ 

toafifordyou much happiness. ItisimprobI! 

"Canton in China "^- ^«'''''- 

"26Jan'y,'l787. 

„f "-^V^; ! '^^g you do not forget mc to nn,- 
of your fnends. Tell Betsey I send hS- a sm nH 
box of tea ,n eanisters, not" forthe sake of the 
tea, but for the canisters which are r-itW 
cur,ous and may serve to set off her tea taWe 

"S. S." 

Major Shaw's anticipated marriage Avith 
h,s beloved Maria" was never to be r^ali. d 
as she d.ed of consumption before his return 

t r^'-, . , """"'''• ^^^ ''^P^^ted this life Oc 
tober 17th, 1784, aged seventeen years and 
one month, and the following Septiber two 
ofthehttle sisters Major Shaw speaks so af 
fectionatelyof in his letters to Mr. ^^d Mrs 
Beauman, also passed away, and the follow! 



80 MEMOIRS OF 

iiig April, 1786, Mrs. Sebastian Beatinian, 
too, passed into the unseen world, there to be 
re-tinited with the loved ones so recently- gone 
on before. Her father, John Wctzell, had en- 
tered into rest February 22, 1785, in his sixt3^- 
fourth year. 

Mrs. Beauman died at the earl^^ age of 34 
3^ears and seven months, after a lingering ill- 
ness of one 3'ear and more. She had shared 
the harships and privation of a soldier'r life in 
camp with her husband, was with hnn at 
Morristown, Hanover, Long Island and spent 
several jxars in camp at West Point. 

Mrs. Eliza S. Ouincy in her "Memoirs of 
Josiah Quincy," thus describes the funeral 
pageant of Miss Maria Beauman in New York 
city: 

"In 1784, when Colonel Bauman returned 
to my father's house in Wall Street, Maria 
Bauman came to visit us. She was a lovely 
3^oung woman, engaged to Major Shaw, who 
had served seven ^^ears in the American Arm^^ 
As aid to General Knox. During her visit he 
embarked from New York to open commercial 
relations between the United States and China. 
They were to be married on his return; I re- 
member their parting at mj'- mother's house. 
Maria remained with us, but her health de- 
clined, and her life soon terminated. 

"Colonel Bauman had returned to the 
city; and her funeral from his residence, 
through the streets of New York was the onl3'' 
one I ever saw conducted in the like manner. 
The pall was supported by six 3'otmg ladies, 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. HI 

dressed in white, with white hoods, scarfs and 
gloves, — emblematic of the character of the 
young friend they were attending for the last 
time. 

"The grief of Major Shaw I shall not at- 
tempt to describe. By devoted attentions to 
Mrs. Bauman and her family, he gave con- 
vincing proofs of his attachment. 

"Mrs. Bauman's other daughters were es- 
timable women; but none of them equalled the 
lamented Maria." 



Major Shaw, on his return to New York, 
May 11, 1785, first learned of Miss Beauman's 
death. He sailed on his second voyage 
from New York on the 4th of February, 
1786, arrived at Canton on the 15th of Aug- 
ust, resided during the whole of the year 1787 
at that city and Macao, and sailed for Bengal 
on the 18th of January 1788. He returned to 
Canton in Sept. 1788, from whence he sailed 
for the United States in Januarj^ 1789, and 
arrived in the harbor of Newport on the 5th 
of July of that year. In 1 71)0, he was again 
appointed Consul to China by Washington. 
He resided several years in that city, and was 
engaged for a considerable period in active 
commerce in the Chinese and Indian seas. On 
his return voyage to New York Cit}' in 1785, 
he brouglit home a great many curios; some 
quite valuable, as souvenirs of his voyage, 
and presented a great many of them to Mrs. 
Beauman and her daughters. Several of them 



32 MEMOIRS OF 

are still in the possession of Mrs. Beauman's 
descendants. 

Before sailing on his last voyage to China, 
which he did in a ship of his own, he married 
Miss Hannah Philips, the daughter of William 
Philips, Ksqnire, of Boston. To this lady he 
was married on the 21st of August, 1792, and 
thvis formed a connection from which he had 
everj^ reason to expect the domestic happiness 
he so highh^ prized. This event did not, how- 
ever, change his plans relative to a voyage to 
China, and in the month of February, 1793, 
he sailed from New York for Bombay. 
His outward \oyo.ge was prosperous, but 
on that from Bombay to Canton his ves- 
sel encountered typhoons, which drove her 
from her track, and prolonged her voyage 
to nearly three months, so that she did not 
reach Canton until the 2nd of November, 1793. 
By a letter to his wife, and by one from 
his youngest brother, who accompanied him 
on this voyage, it appears that during his res- 
idence at Bomba}' he contracted a disease of 
the liver incident to the climate, which ap- 
peared soon after his departure from that city, 
and confined him to his house during the 
w^hole period of his sta^^ at Canton. Finding 
no relief from medical aid at this place he 
sailed in the ship "Washington" for the United 
States, on the 17th of March, 1794. The dis- 
ease, however, increased with the voyage, 
and in about ten weeks terminated his life. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 33 

An extract from a letter to his widow, writ- 
ten by his friend and partner, Thomas Ran- 
dall, who accompanied him on this voyage, re- 
lates the circumstances of that event, and his 
own feelings on that occasion. 

"Sandy Hook, August 24, 1794. 

"Dear Madam: — With a heart deeply dis- 
tressed I take the pen to inform you of the 
death of my beloved and esteemed friend, Mr. 
Samuel Shaw, who died on board the ship 
'Washington,' near the Cape of Good Hope on 
Friday afternoon, 3 o'clock, on the 3()th day 
of Ma}^ last. Ever^^ effort was made b}' the 
surgeon, Mr. Dodge, and the friends of Mr. 
Shaw, both at Canton and while at sea, to ef- 
fect his recovery. * * * * But alas! his dis- 
ease was too inveterate for medical aid. 

"Aly friend died with a calm strength of 
mind, and expressed his solicitude for the hap- 
piness of his remaining friends to the last. 

"I feel myself, dear Madam, so greatly 
afflicted at this event, that I cannot find 
words to offer 3^ou consolation upon the affect- 
ing loss of so near and dear a connection to 
3^ou. 

"Permit me, w^hile I most sincerely lament 
your loss, to join my griefs to yours, and to 
assure you, dear Madam, of the respectful and 
affectionate esteem, with which I am 

"Your most obedient servant 

"Thomas Randall." 

"Mr. Shaw was born in' Boston, the 2nd 
of October, 1754, and at the time of his de- 
cease was aged thirty-nine years and six 
months. 



34 MEMOIRS OF 

"During the war he was active in the field 
in the defense of his country, in offices of honor 
and command, while the most amiable dispo- 
sition made him a favorite in scenes of private 
life. He was a man rather tall and portly 
than otherwise, of an open countenance and 
benevolent heart, cheerful without levity, and 
sedate without reserve; in the hurry of busi- 
ness he had leisure to attend the distressed, 
and his hand was ever open to indigence and 
want. His manners were refined, and his sen- 
timents worthy the character he possessed; 
man}' a heavj^ heart has been enlivened by his 
sociability^; and his freedom of conversation 
and familiar deportment towards all the offi- 
cers endeared him to them by the most pleas- 
ant ties." 

(See Journals of S. Shaw, by Josiah Quincy.) 

"In November, 1783, Major Shaw re- 
ceived from General Washington the following 
testimonial of his merit and services in the 
armj^ of the Revolution: — 

"By his Excellencj^ George Washington, 
Esq., General and Commander-in-chief of the 
forces of the United States of America. 

"This certifies that Captain Samuel Shaw- 
was appointed a Lieutenant of Artillery in the 
army of the United States of America in 1775; 
the year following he was appointed Adjutant, 
and in 1777 was promoted to the rank of 
Captain-I/ieiitenant and Brigade Major in the 
corps of Artillery, in which capacity he served 
until August, 1779, when he was appointed 
Aid-de-camp to Major General Knox, com- 
manding the Artillery, with whom he re- 
mained till the close of the war, having been 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 85 

promoted to the rank of Captain of Artillery 

in 1780. 

"From the testimony of the superior otti- 
cers under whom Captain Shaw has served, as 
well as from my own observation, I am en- 
abled to certify, that, throughout the whole of his 
service, he has greatly distinguished himself in 
everything which could entitle him to the character 
of an intelligent, active, and brave officer. 

"Given under my hand and seal this third 
day of November, 1783. 

"Geo. Washington, 
"By his Excellency's command. 
"Ben Walker, Aid-de-camp." 

"On the 5th of January, 1784, Major 
Shaw took final leave of the family of General 
Knox, from whom he received m his own 
handwriting, the following certificate, reflect- 
ing honor alike on the qualities of his heart 
and his excellence as an officer: 

"This is to certify that the possessor, Cap- 
tain Samuel Shaw, has borne a commission in 
the Artillerv of the United States of America 
upwards of eight years, more than seven of 
which he has been particularly attached to the 
subscriber in the capacities of adjutant, bri- 
gade-major, and aid-de-camp. In the various 
and arduous duties of his several stations he 
has, in every instance, evinced himself an intel- 
ligent, active, and gallant officer, and as such 
he has peculiarly endeared himself to his num- 
erous acquaintances. 

"This testimony is given unsolicited on 
his part. It is dictated by the pure principles 
of affection and gratitude, inspired by an un- 



36 MEMOIRS OF 

equivocal attachment during a long and try- 
ing period of the American war. 

"Given under mj^ hand and seal, at West 
Point, upon Hudson's River, this 5th day of 
Januarv, ITS-i. 

"H. Knox, M. General." 

''Major Shaw took an active and efficient 
part in the formation of the Society of the Cin- 
cinnati. He was chosen secretary of the com- 
mittee of the officers of the army who formed 
it, and, according to information derived from 
the late Colonel Timothy Pickering, the origi- 
nal draft of its constitution was from his pen." 
(See Quincy's Memoirs of Major Shaw.) 

MRS. SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN's ANCESTORS AND 
DESCENDANTS. 

Christina Ernest, who married, in 1748, 
John Wetzell, of New York, (N. A.,) was a 
daughter of Dr. Ernest, of Manheim, Ger- 
many, a martj^r of the Reformed religion, at 
the stake. 

Anna Wetzell, daughter of John and 
Christina Ernest Wetzell, was married to 
Colonel Sebastian Beauman, Sept. 11, 1766. 

Married, on Sunday evening last, Dec. 29, 
1794, By the Rev. Dr. McKnight, Mr. John 
Smith, merchant, to Mrs. Agnes Wetzell, eld- 
est daughter of Gen-. William Malcomb, both 
of N. Y. City. 

On Wednesdav eve, Sept. 28, 1796, by the 
Rev. Dr. Peter Lo\ve, Dr. William H. Doll, of 
Colchester, Delaware County-, N. Y., to Miss 
Sophia Christina Beauman, daughter of Col- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 

onel Sebastian Beauman and Anna Wetzell 
Beauman. 

On Wednesday eve, July 30tli, 1800, by 
the Rev. Dr. Livingston, Rev. Peter Lowe, of 
Flatbush, to Miss Eliza Beauman, second 
daughter of Colonel Sebastian Beauman and 
Anna Wetzell Beauman, of New York City. 



RECORD OF DEATHS. 

New York, October 14th, 1784. This 
morning a little after five o'clock, Departed 
this life, Miss Maria E. Beauman, aged seven- 
teen years and one month. 

1785, February 22nd, 2 in the morning, 
Died, my father, John Wetzell, in his 64th 
year. 

1786, April 15th, at % after five this 
morning, Departed this Life, my dear sister, 
Anna Beauman, Aged 34 years, 7 months and 
15 daj^s, after a lingering illness of a year or 
more. 

1788, June 9th. Died, my brother, Mat- 
thew Wetzell, at Philadelphia, on his w^ay 
from Charleston, South Carolina, aged 27 
years, 6 months and 4 days. 

CHILDREN OF SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN AND 
ANNA WETZELL. 

1.— Maria Ehzabeth, born, Sept. 14, 1767. 
Died, October 17th, 1784. 

2.— John Jacob, born, October 8th, 1769. 
Died, October 23rd, 1770. 



^8 MP'.MOTRS OF 

3. — Ann Elizabeth, l)orn, August 15, 1771. 
Died, 1825. 

4<. — Sophia Christina, born, jnly 18th, 1773. 
Died, October 20, 1848. 

5. — Maria Christina, born, Jan'y. 18th, 177^. 
Died, September 10, 1855. 

6. — Ann Charlotte, born, December 24, 1776. 
Died Jan. 7, 1777. 

7. — Ann Snsanna, born, Nov. 1, 1771). Died, 
Sept. 29, 1785, at West Point. 

8. — Lucy, born, November 4-, 1781. Died, 
Sept. 21)th, 1785, at West Point. 

9.— Harriet Sarah, born Feb. 28th, 1784. 
Died, Sept. 20, 1785, at West Point. 
10. — Ann Agnes, born, Jan. l()th, 1780. Died, 
April 28th, 1864, at New York City. 

Ann Eliz.abeth Beanman married the Rev. 
Peter Lowe, of Flatbush, July :5()th, 1800. 

Sophia Christina Beauman married Dr. 
William Henry Doll (son of Dr. George Jacob 
Leonard Doll, D. D., of Kingston, N. Y.) Sept. 
28th, 1790. 

Maria Christina Beauman married Adam 
T. Doll, eldest son of Rev. Dr. George Jacob 
Leonard Doll, of Kingston, N. Y. 

Ann Agnes Beauman married, first, Peter 
Vanderlyn, of Kingston, N. Y., and after his 
death married John Br en nan, of Kingston, 
N. Y. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 



THE CHILDREN OF REV. PETER LOWE AND ELIZ- 
ABETH ANN BEAUMAN, HIS WIFE. 

1.— Sarah Ami Lowe, born 1801, died 1S02. 

2. — Beauman Lowe, born 1803, died 18 — . 

3. — Sarah Livingston Lowe, born 1804, died 
18~. 

4. — Helen Masterton Lowe, born 1808, died 
18—. 

5. — Maria Christina Lowe, born 1810, died 
18— 

6. — ^Johannah Lowe, bom 1815, died 1818. 

THE CHILDREN OF DR. WILLIAM HENRY DOLL 
AND SOPHIA CHRISTINA BEAUMAN, HIS WIFE. 

1.— John Jacob Doll, born May 7th, 1798, 
Died Alay 9th, 1832 — unmarried — at Napa- 
noch, aged 34. 

2. — Jnlia Ann Caroline Doll, born Dec. 7th, 
1800. Died February 18th, 1885, at Ellen- 
ville, aged 85. 

3. — George Jacob Leonard Doll, born April 
12, 1808, at Napanoch. Died at Livingston 
Manor, N. Y., Sept. 12th, 1872, aged 69. 

4. --Anna Christina Doll, born Aug. 15th, 
1805, at Napanoch. Died at Napanoch, N. Y. 
June 21st, 1882, aged 77. 

5.— Sarah S Doll, bom April 18th, 1808, at 
Napanoch. Died at Ellenville, N. Y., July 
27th, 1831, aged 23. 

G. — William Henry Doll, born July 31st, 






40 aiEMOIRS OF 

ISIO, at Napanocli. Died at Syracuse, N. Y., 
Dec. 9tli, 1S73, aged 63. 

7. — Sebastian Beaiiman Doll, born Nov. 
15tli, 1812, at Napanocli. Died at Napanoch, 
N. v., Dec. 5tli, 1S9C), ao-ed 84-. 

8. — John Kemper Doll, born March 1^, 
1815, at Napanoch. Died at Kingston, N. Y. 
Dec. 27th, 1881, aged 66. 

CHILDREN OF ADAM T. DOLL AND HIS WIFE, 

MARIA CHRISTINA BEAUMAN. ^ 

1.— Bcaninan Doll, born March 20, 1706. 
Died in infancy. 

2.— George Detkin Doll, born May 30, 1797. 
Died Jnly 29, 1798. 

3>.— Sns'an Detkin Doll, born April 14, 1799. ^ 
Died AIarcli9, 18H1. 

4.— Ann Maria Doll, born May 21, 1801. 
Died March 2(», 1831. 

v5.— Anna Agnes Doll, born April 2o, 1803. 
Died Nov. 1,1 830. 

6. — Sarah Christina Doll, born April 22, 
1808. Died Feb. 17, 1834-. 

CHILDREN OF JOHN BRENNAN AND ANN AGNES 
BEAUMAN, HIS \YIFE. 

1. — Eliza, died, innnarricd, aged 24. \ 

2. — Sophia, who married Benjamin A. New- 
kirk, Henley, X. Y. 
3. — Michael Sebastian, married Deborah 
Laskev, Lvnn, JMass. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 41 

4. — Bcauman, married Sophia Freeman, N. Y. 
city. 

5. — Cornelia Doll, married Samuel Marsh, N. 
Y. city. 

C). — Mar^^ Christina, married Dr. W. I. Well- 
man, N. Y. city. 

7. — Charles, who died quite young. 

Eliza Susan Morton Quincy, of Ouincj, 
Mass., a cousin of Mrs. Sebastian Bcauman, 
has written the following narrative of some 
events in the lives of her maternal ancestors, 
and of her own early life. She says: 

"My maternal grandfather, Jacob Kem- 
per, was born in Germany, in the city of Caub, 
on the river Rhine, A. I)., 1706. His father, 
an officer in the Prince Palai4ne's army, was 
so severely woinided, that he was obliged to 
retire upon. a pension. He was a Colonel in 
the army of Frederick I. of Prussia. Pie sur- 
vived many battles and died, after a lingering 
illness, in his easy chair, — a circumstance to 
which his children used often to advert as a 
singular termination of the life of a military 
man, who had received fourteen wounds in 
battle. His pension was continued, and his 
widow was thus enabled to give each of her 
three sons a liberal education. The eldest, a 
physician, went to the East Indies; returned, 
after many years, a man of large property; 
and settled in Holland. The profession of the 
second son is not remembered. Jacob Kem- 
per, the youngest son, was six years of age 
when his father died. He refused to finish his 



42 MEMOIRS OF 

studies at the university, for which he was 
prepared; and insisted upon entering upon 
some active employment. His mother 3'ielded 
to his wishes, and purchased a vessel for him; 
as master of which, he took freight, on his 
own account, at the cities on the Rhine. 

"In 173G, he married Maria Regina Ern- 
est, of Manheim. Her father was a minister 
of the Reformed Church in that city. Her 
mother, a woman of rank and fortune, had of- 
fended her parents hj her marriage with Mr. 
Ernest, who had been her tutor. They never 
forgave him; but once a j^ear, sent for their 
daughter and her children to visit them at their 
splendid mansion; and when her father died, 
his grandchildren in America shared in her 
portion of his property. 

"In 1737, Mrs. Kemper accompanied her 
husband to Coblentz, where her first child was 
born. She received great kindness from the 
ladies of that city; and one of the principals 
stood godmother to the infant, and named it 
after herself, Anna Gertrude. 

"Her second daughter, Maria Sophia, my 
mother, w^as born at Caub in 1739, and 
named after her two grandmothers, Mrs. 
Ernest and Mrs. Kemper. 

"In 1741, a company of men called New- 
landers, were employed by shipowners in Hol- 
land to persuade the Germans to emigrate to 
America, w^hich they described as a perfect 
Acadia, — a land flowing with milk and lionet", 
and enriched with mines of gold and silver. 
They thus induced persons well situated in 
their native countr\^ to rend asunder the ties 
of kindness and affection, and to go three 
thousand miles across an ocean to an un- 



•0 

i 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 43 

known land, where the language, habits and 
customs were entireh^ foreign to their own. 
Mr. Kemper was so infatuated by their repre- 
sentations that, contrary to the entreaties 
of his mother and friends, he converted all his 
possessions into money, and prepared for his 
vo3'age. Mr. Kemper's mother — when she 
found he was determined to leave her, and to 
take his wife, to whom she was attached as to 
a daughter, with her two children, one born in 
her house — supplied them with ever3" accom- 
modation in her power. Her onh' daughter 
was married, and settled at a distance; she 
was left alone, and never ceased to grieve for 
the loss of her children, like that of death to 
her. They heard from her occasionally^; but 
in those times communication with Europe 
was rare and difficult. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Kemper embarked from 
Amsterdam in 174-1. Their voyage was 
lengthened many months b3^ touching a port 
in England, where they tarried some time. 
Mrs. Kemper was accompanied by her yotmg- 
est sister, Maria Christina Ernest; her brother, 
Matthev\' Ernest, had man\^ 3^ears previous 
left Manheim, without the knowledge of his 
parents. After a long time he wrote that he 
had gone to America, had married a widow* of 
fortune, and was established as a merchant at 
a place called Rhinebeck, from the settlers hav- 
ing come from the river Rhine, and from the 
proprietor, Beckman. To this brother, 
Matthew Ernest, Mr. and Mrs. Kemper 
wished to direct their steps, but they were 
landed in Philadelphia, two hundred miles 
from his residence, — ignorant of the language 

'Mrs. Sharpe, widow of Jacob Sharpe. of Rhinebeck, N. Y. 



44 1M1'',I\1()11JS OF 

ol tlic couiiliv, .'111(1 1)1 ovorvlliiiii; wliicli iiiiglit 
help tluMii on llii-ir way. 

"A (icriii.'in niiciit induced Mr. Konipcr to 
exchange his L^i^ld and silver for dcprociatcd 
paper inoiK'\\ wlnoli ho roproscntcd as ol cupial 
value, and more convonicnt to oarrv, as it was 
the eurrcncv of the eountrv. When Mr. Keiu- 
per reaeheil New r>rniiswiek he met with an 
honest (lerman resident w hose name was DilH- 
diiie, to whom he exhibited his luiuls, and wdio 
tolci liini he had been defrauded by a sharper. 
His Journey of ei;^lity miles from IMiiladeli)liia 
had exceeded all his other exi)enses since he 
left Germany, from the use of the depreciated 
pajKM- money, h^rom nrunswiek Mr. and Mrs. 
Kemper took ])assaL;e in a sloop to New York, 
and thus up the Uiidson to Rhinebeck, where 
they were received with ureat kindness by 
their brother, antl passed the ensuini; winter 
at his hospitable abode. 

"In the Spring oi' ITl'J, Mr. I^rncst ad- 
viseil Mr. Kemper to take the comni<and of a 
sloop which he t)wiie(l. or to buy one for hini- 
seU", and ply up and down the Hudson, be- 
tween Rhinebeck and New^ York, — a profitable 
business in which he had been employed in 
ticrmaiiy. His family could then remain near 
Mr. bancs t, and have the advantaL^c of a 
church and school in their own langnai^c. Hut 
by a sins^ular obstinacy, as it appears to ns, 
Mr. Kemi>er insisted on ^'oiui; back into the 
country, on the "NewLind" he had heard so 
much of, to become a farmer. He had left 
Cicrmany with this ])roject, and not him;- could 
divert him fiH)iii his purpose, and his ii;norance 
of the Ivui^lish tcniLiuc prctbably made him dif- 
lident of ent:ai:inij in a business carried on in 



(K)I.0M<:L SI'll'.AS'l'lyW I'.MAI MAN. Af, 

Lli.'it l.'iii;^M.'i|^c. I'indiii;^ Mr. I\iiii|)(r obsLi- 
natcly hcnt upon liis jxirpose, Mr. lirncst 
yielded, «iiid pureliased lor iiiiii ,'i, farm on 'tlie 
l)atent' ol Robert I\. Li vin;.;sion, on n lease of 
three lives, in that part ol Dutehess County, 
now the town ofl'eeknian — sixty miles helow 
Rliineheek, and twenty from the Hudson. On 
this lariii there was a small house and a harii, 
and land eleared for a /^^arden; and the rest 
was as wild and uncnitivated as eould he (le- 
sired; and there this laniily, l)n>u;^liL \\\i in 
cities and used to all tlie »aeeonimodations of 
hfe, were set down in a wilderness, i;^norant 
of the best modes of elearin;^ and eultivatin^ 
the^^round, and ofobtainin;.^ dail^' comforts. 

"Christina, li^rnest remained with her 
brother Matthew, who continued to assist 
Mr. and Mrs. Kemper by every means in his 
])Ower. lie visited them several times a year, 
and sent or brou/^ht tliem coffee, tea., sii;.(ar, 
&c., sixty miles on rcjads almost im|>assable, — 
c(|ual to hundreds at the present day. Mr. 
Ernest always traveled on horseback: and my 
motlier remembers how his saddle-ba^j^s used 
tc) be loaded for the family, and the joy his ar- 
rival occasioned. 

"In 17 IS, Maria Christina Ivrnest mar- 
ried Mr. John Wetzell, of New York, and went 
to reside in that city; and Matthew lirnest 
also removed to that place. These ehan/^-es in- 
creased Mrs. Kemjjcr's desire to leave their se- 
cluded situation; and her brother, Mr. Ernest, 
on his last visit in the Autnnm proposed tliat 
they sell their lease, (juit their farm, and re- 
move to a place he would ])rovide for them. 

"Mr. Kemper therefore sold the j)roperty 
of his lease, which was on three lives,— one of 



46 MEMOIRS OF ' 

them my mother's. A few A'ears since, in 
1816, an inquiry was made if she was still liv- 
ing, as the estate was still held by that tenure. 

"Early in the spring of 1749, Mr. and 
Mrs. Kemper left their farm, and the improve- 
ments of six 3'ears, to the great regret of their 
kind neighbors, who assisted to convey the 
family to Rhinebeck; thence the3' went down 
the Hudson in a sloop to Mr. Ernest in New 
York. 

"In 1749, Mr. Kemper, by the sale of his 
lease, farm and improvements, repaid Mr. 
Ernest for an excellent house in Albany street, 
New Brunswick, N. J., and engaged in a profit- 
able biisiness as a merchant. 

"Here his family had the advantage of a 
good school; and my mother, for the first time 
within her remembrance entered a church, — an 
interesting occasion she has often described. 
As Mr, and Mrs. Kemper had hitherto resided 
in a settlement where German \vas alone 
spoken, their children knew only their mother 
tongue; but by attending a church where the 
services were in Low Dutch, the prevalent 
language of the town, and an English Presby- 
terian Church, and b3^ going to school, they 
soon acquired both languages. 

"The defeat of Gen. Braddock took place 
at this period, and my mother remembers see- 
ing the remains of his unfortunate army pass 
through the town. 

"Two German grenadiers, b^' the names 
of Burns and Kaun, were quartered in her 
father's house; and she often heard them de- 
scribe that dreadful scene. 

"After JMr. Kemper had resided ten years 
in New Brunswick, trade was suddenly turned 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 47 

into new channels; the town declined, and he 
was obliged to seek a new abode. He sold a 
vessel he had built to ply between Bruns- 
wick and New York, and all the property 
he could dispose of without sacrifice. His 
real estate was retained two years, when 
it was sold at a reduced price. With 
the proceeds he entered into business in 
New York, where Mr. Ernest was an affluent 
merchant. This removal from New Bruns- 
wick in 1759 was very painful to Mr. and Mrs. 
Kemper, and especially to their children. 
Their hearts were grieved to leave dear friends 
who lamented their departure with tears, and 
whose kindness they took every opportunity 
to return, 

"Mr. Kemper's affairs continued prosper- 
ous and his family, which consisted of five 
sons and four daughters, improved in their ed- 
ucation. In 1760, his eldest daughter, Ger- 
trude, born in Coblentz on the river Rhine, 
married Dr. Miller, a young German ph\'si- 
cian, who like many others, had been induced 
to come to America, and was successfully 
practicing his profession in New York. In 
1705, he visited Germany, and as he was an 
only son, and heir to a large property, his fa- 
ther forbade his return. He therefore request- 
ed his wife and their two children to follow 
him, under the care of her two brothers, Mat- 
thew and Daniel Kemper. 

"Dr. Miller received them in Holland, and 
conducted them to the cit}' of Konigsburgh in 
the King of Prussia's dominions, where they 
remained on his father's estate. 

"Daniel Kemper returned, but his eldest 
brother, Matthew, married, and settled near 
Mrs. Miller. 



48 MEMOIRS OF 

"Their relatives in New York received fre- 
quent letters until 1 774-, when intelligence ar- 
rived of the death of Matthew Kemper, leav- 
ing' a widow and one child. Mrs. Miller, in 
her last letter, expressed <4reat anxiety to re- 
visit her friends in America, but it was impos- 
sible, and the war of the Revolution terminat- 
ed all communication. 

"Six wrecks after the marria<^e of Mrs. 
Miller, Aug". 23, 1700, Mrs. Kemper's second 
daughter, Maria Sophia, married John Mor- 
ton, a young man of amiable equalities and 
cheerful disposition. Descriptive cognomens 
were the usage of the day, and his personal 
advantages obtained for him that of 'Hand- 
some Johnny.' His father was of Scottish 
descent and a liberal IVotestant. His father 
resided near Dawson's Bridge in the north of 
Ireland. He w^as an elder in the Rev. Mr. 
Henry's church for thirty years and died in 
that oifice. 

"Catherine, the third daughter of Mrs. 
Kcmjier, married Dawson, a captain of the 
British Army, Jime 15, 1708. He was a man 
of amiable (lualities, to whom she was deeply 
attached. Their hap])v union was severed by 
her death in the first year of her marriage, and 
her husband did not long survive. The sons 
of Mr. Kemper were successhd in different pur- 
suits in life, but the war of the Revolution 
broke up their happy homes, they were sub- 
jected to danger and anxiety in the theater of 
actual warfare. 

"What was the situation of Mr. Ernest 
during all these changes, will naturally be 
asked by all wdio read this narrative, and re- 
member his unwearied kindness toward his sis- 



r;OJ/>NEL KEHABTIAN iiKACMAN. 49 

ter. After Mr. and Mrs. Kemper hnd removed 
to New York, Mr. Ernest, who had aefjui red a 
large property, resolved to visit Germany, in 
the hopes of seeing his father once more. But 
the good minister of Manheim had died one 
month before hi^ arrival*. This disaj)pr>int- 
ment, and the tragic death of his father, was 
very affecting to Mr. Ivrnest, who, many years 
before, had left his father's house without the 
knowledge of his parents. 

"He then learned of the fate of his sister, 
Susan Hrnest, who had married and resided on 
the banks of the Rhine, iiy the sudden burst- 
ing of a water-spout against a mountain in 
her neighborhood, a tremendous flood de- 
scended to the river, carrying death and de- 
struction to all within its course. Jfer house 
was washed into the Rhine. vShe was last seen 
standing at her door with an infant in her 
arms. She perished with all the family. 

"Mr. Ernest had the consolation of seeing 
his mother, and his surviving sister, Catherine, 
who had married Christian Hoffman, and who 
with her husband and two sons, returned 
with him to America. He brought workmen 
from Germany and established a glass factory 
six miles from Xew York; but this undertaking 
failed from the incompetency of the chief person 
employed, and Mr. Ernest consequently lost a 
great part of his fortune. 

"When the Revolution began, he entered 
into business in Philadelphia, and when the 
British troops came there he put all his prop- 
erty and furniture on board a sloop to be tak- 
en up the Delaware to Trenton, while he went 
to that place by land with his wife. Instead of 

"Jfe wa« burnt at Xtii «tak«; for hin religion. 



60 MEMOIRS OF 

going to Trenton, the captain of the vessel 
went over to the British with all his posses- 
sions, and again Mr. Ernest lost all his prop- 
ertj but the money he had with him. He 
afterwards caine to Morristown where he re- 
sided with his friends until his death, three 
years before peace was declared. 

"Previous to Mr. Ernest's visit to Ger- 
man^', his only son, John Ernest, a promising 
and excellent young man, married and settled 
in New York as a merchant. Both he and his 
wife died in early life, leaving two sons, An- 
thony and Matthew. The 3'ounger son, Mat- 
thew Ernest, was employed during the resi- 
dence of his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Ern- 
est, at Morristo^vn, in iron works at that 
place, and bj^ his industrj^ and his affectionate 
conduct, contributed to their support and 
comfort. After the peace, the widow of Mr. 
Ernest returned to New York, and found a 
home in the house of Jacob Sharpe, her son by 
her first marriage. 

"Soon after the marriage of Mr. Morton 
with Maria Sophia Kemper, he relinquished 
his place in the commissary department, en- 
tered into business as a merchant and soon ac- 
quired a large propert3^ He made two V03'- 
ages to England, or 'Home,' as it was termed 
by the colonists, to arrange correspondence 
with merchants and with manufacturing es- 
tablishments. He owned a large brick house 
on Water Street, New York, in which he resid- 
ed, and also a large wharf behind it, which ex- 
tended below low water mark. His ships used 
to unload into his spacious warehouse situat- 
ed on the wharf, which also served as a flax 
seed store, a branch of trade in which my 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 51 

father was largely engaged. The demand for 
Irish linen was so great that the flax was not 
allowed to ripen in Ireland. It was there im- 
mediately worked up at the manufactories, 
and the seed for the next j^ear imported from 
America, where it was then raised in immense 
quantities on the borders of the Hudson. 
This lucrative business was destro^-ed by the 
Revolution. From the introduction of cotton 
fabrics it never subsequentK'' revived; and 
trade found new channels. 

"At this period, the importations of mer- 
chants comprehended a great variety of arti- 
cles. Mr. Morton's large establishment was 
filled with ever\^ description of English manu- 
facture, from the finest laces to broadcloth 
and blankets, and those also of other coun- 
tries, superb mirrors, engravings, china, glass, 
&c. — often sent directly from the manufactur- 
ers, on the most advantageous terms; and his 
commercial relations were, therefore, very 
large and prosperous. 

"In 1774, the familj^ of my parents con- 
sisted of four children, two sons and mj sister 
Margaret, born in 1772, and myself, then an 
infant. From the commencement of the Rev- 
olution, m3" father and all the connections of 
our family took the side of liberty and the col- 
onies, and became what w^ere called w^ama 
Whigs. 

"After the scenes attendant on the Stamp 
Act and the Tea Tax, when war seemed inev- 
itable, and when the 'Asia,' a British Man-of- 
War, came into the East River, opposite Mr. 
Morton's house, and threatened to fire upon 
the city, he determined to leave New York. 
He was promised protection if he would re- 



52 MEMOIRS OF 

main a lo^^al and quiet subject; but he did not 
hesitate to abandon his property, rather than 
submit to the unjust measures of a govern- 
ment which had become tyrannical and op- 
pressive to his countrj^ A vessel belonging 
to him had arrived from England, laden with 
valuable merchandise; all the goods in the 
Tvarehouse were hastily packed and sent on 
board the ship, which with its cargo was or- 
dered round to Philadelphia, a place then con- 
sidered out of reach of the British, under the 
care of Mr. Gallaudet, the confidential clerk of 
Mr. Morton, where they were sold at high 
prices, and the money deposited in the Loan 
Of&ce. 

"The amount thus devoted to the use of 
the American Army hj John Morton caused 
him to be denominated by the British, 'The 
Rebel Banker.' As he was not able, and his 
sons v\rere not old enough to fight the battles 
of his countrj^, he said he would paj^ to those 
who could, the last farthing he possessed. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Morton sent on their fur- 
niture, and all their effects which could be re- 
moved, to Elizabethtown in New Jersey, and 
hastily followed with their family, abandon- 
ing their excellent house and all their real es- 
tate to the enemies, who took possession of 
their pleasant dwelling, and appropriated 
everything to their own use during the seven 
succeeding j^ears. 

"My father's propert^^ was also dimin- 
ished by the depreciation of the paper currency 
issued bj^ Congress, in which money he was 
obliged to receive all debts due to him. The 
partial interest allowed bj^ Congress for the 
money deposited in the Loan Office, after the 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 53 

French Loan was negotiated, was paid in 
specie; and this, together with merchandise 
taken out of New York and sold or exchanged 
for articles requisite for the family, furnished 
their means of support during the war. 

"In 1775, Mr. and Mrs. Kemper also re- 
moved to Elizabethtown. Two of their sons 
entered the American Army. Jacob Kemper 
rose to be a captain; Daniel served as a quar- 
termaster. Their youngest daughter, Susan 
Kemper, resided with my mother. My father 
purchased a house, with a large garden adja- 
cent, at Elizabethtown. 

"As m3^ eldest brother had been there pre- 
pared for college, my parents were previously 
acquainted with several of the inhabitants. 
They were intimate in the family of Elias 
Boudinot, and attended the church of the Rev. 
Mr. Caldwell, a Presbyterian minister, who 
joined the ranks of the American Arm3^ with 
his parishioners, and served as a volunteer. 
His profession, his zeal and patriotism, ren- 
dered him peculiarly obnoxious to the British. 
"While Mr. and Mrs. Morton resided at 
Elizabethtown, their cares were increased by 
the birth of another son, whom they named 
Washington; a proof of their confidence in 
that great man at the time he was appointed 
Commander-in-chief of the American Arm^-. 
My brother was certainly the first child named 
in honor of him. 

"Alarmed by the approach of the British 
Army, our family fled to Springfield, seven 
miles distant, where they remained several 
weeks in a house with five other families, who 
were also fugitives. My father then sought 
a safer situation, and purchased a house and 



54 MEMOIRS OF 

farm at Baskin ridge, fifteen or t^venty miles 
from Elizabethtown; and conveyed thither all 
the furniture and effects brought from New- 
York. Mr. and Mrs. Kemper removed to Ger- 
mantown, fourteen miles farther inland, in the 
neighborhood of many of their countrymen. 

"Baskinridge was a retired, pleasant situ- 
ation, enclosed by some high land called the 
'Long Hills.' It was a secure place from the 
British, and at times in the centre of the Amer- 
ican Army. The headquarters of Washington 
w^ere at Morristown, only seven miles distant. 
The hospital was located on Mr. Morton's es- 
tate. It was a long low, log building, situat- 
ed on a rising ground in a meadow; a brook 
ran in front of it and supplied the inmates 
with water for cooking and w^ashing. Dr. 
Tilton, the director of the medical department, 
with Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Coventy, and other 
physicians, had rooms in my father's house; 
and a small school house was converted into an 
apothecary shop. This arrangement contin- 
ued more than two years, and the society of 
these gentlemen was very agreeable. The 
house at Baskinridge w^as of two stories, situ- 
ated on the high road, about halfway down 
the hill. On one side therefore, the parlor 
Endows were even with the ground, on the 
other was a high porch with seats, the steps 
of which led to the second story. 

*' Being myself a child under nine years of 
age at this time, my impressions, although 
lively, are unconnected. I shall, therefore 
•state the events I remember, in precise terms, 
and describe the rest from the recollections of 
jny mother. 

''The American troops were constantly 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 55 

passing our house, and the officers, who were 
always received and treated with the greatest 
hospitality and kindness. All was freely 
given, — shelter, food, forage for their horses, 
relief for the sick and wounded. 

"General Washington and his suite were 
often my father's guests. Among the stores 
brought from New York were two pipes of 
Madeira wine, which often contributed to the 
refreshment of the beloved chief. 

"The capture of General Lee, on the 13th 
of December, 1776, occurred soon after the 
settlement of our family at Baskinridge. He 
had come from the American camp at Morris- 
town to reconnoitre; and put up for the night 
at Mr. White's tavern, not half a mile away, 
l)eyond the hill near the church. 

"My iather, who was always attentive to 
every officer of the army, called on General 
Lee, and invited him to breakfast the next 
day. He accepted, but as he did not appear 
at the appointed time, Mr. Morton became 
impatient, and walked up the hill to meet his 
expected guest. On his way he encountered 
rp any of the country people running in great 
consternation, exclaiming, 'The British have 
come to take General Lee!' My father hur- 
ried on, and saw Lee, without hat or cloak, 
forcibly mounted, and carried off by a troop 
of horse; and as he had but few attend- 
ants, but little resistance was attempted. 
One of his men who offered to defend him, was 
cut down and wounded by the sabers of the 
horsemen. He was brought to our house 
where he was taken care of until he was car- 
ried on a litter to a surgeon in Mendon; and 
after three months recovered and came back 
±o thank my mother for her kindness to him. 



56 MEMOIES OF 

"The British Arm 3^ never penetrated to 
Baskinridge, but there were repeated alarms of 
their approach, with fire and sword, and the 
children were often sent to places of safety 
among the hills several miles distant. 

"In 1779 Susan Kemper was married to 
Dr. Jackson, of Philadelphia, and w^ent tore- 
side in that city. Her uncommon vivacity, 
cheerful temper and great capability had ren- 
dered her a most useful and delightful inmate 
of our family. I had been named after her, 
and was grieved at her departure. My sister, 
Margaret, was afterward sent to stay with 
her aunt and attend school in Philadelphia. 

"The revolt of the Pennsylvania line oc- 
curred in January, 1781. The soldiers, driven 
to desperation for want of food, clothes, and 
pay, determined to march to Philadelphia, and 
force Congress to redress their grievances. 
One of the officers, in attempting to suppress 
the meeting, ^^as killed, and others wounded. 
Obliged to fly from their camp at Morristown, 
several took refuge at m3'^ father's residence in 
Baskinridge. Captain Christie was the first 
who rushed into the house, gave intelligence 
of the revolt, and begged to be secreted from 
the soldiers he feared were on his track. He 
was accordingly concealed till the danger was 
past. My parents were terrified, and it was 
apprehended that the troops would go over to 
the British, but this fear proved groundless; 
and the termination of the rebellion is recorded 
in history. 

"In 1781, the several states agreed to 
Articles of Confederation. The completion of 
this important compact, which it w^as hoped 
would preserve the tlnion until a more efficient 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 57 

system could be adopted, was the last event in 
favor of American independence which my 
father was destined to witness. In the final 
success of the cause of his country, for which 
he had undergone many sufferings and sacri- 
fices, he did not live to rejoice. 

"In the spring of 1781, my brother, John 
Morton, with a classmate from Princeton, 
was passing a college vacation at Baskinridge, 
with his parents, whose family then consisted 
of their youngest son, Clark Morton, and 
their domestics. All had retired for the night, 
"when thc}^ w^ere aroused by a number of 
armed men forciblj^ breaking open the front 
door of the house. Their chief, whose face was 
blackened, and disguised by a handkerchief 
tied around the head and brought down to 
the eyes, first demanded all the keys and gold 
watches. A bayonet was presented at every 
window or door, when escape was attempted, 
and thus surrounded, submission was un- 
avoidable. My father was much indisposed, 
and into his apartment all the family, with 
the exception of John Morton, v^^ere thrust, 
and a sentinel placed at the door. Thej^ soon 
perceived that a stranger was among them, 
and at first supposed him to be one of the rob- 
bers; but his terror and exclamations soon 
proved him to be a prisoner like themselves. 
He said he was a militia man who had been 
out on dutj^ As he was returning home he 
met the party then in the house, who had cap- 
tured him, and put him under guard to pre- 
vent him from giving an alarm. From the 
conduct of the intruders, there was cause to 
suppose that among them were persons well 
acquainted with the arrangements of Mr. 



58 MEMOIRS OF 

Morton. They first went to a closet where 
his mone}'- and valuable papers were deposited 
in an iron chest, as was the custom at that 
period. It contained thirty pounds in gold 
and silver, which he had just received as part 
payment for his house in Elizabeth town. A 
report had also spread that he had sold his 
estate in New York and received a large sum 
for it. Great disappointment was expressed 
by the robbers at not finding more money; and 
they swore they would kill John Morton, if he 
did not show them where his father had hid 
his treasures. They forced him to open all the 
drawers and closets; and then took him into 
the cellar, where they thought money might 
be concealed, and again threatened him with 
death. As he could tell them nothing more, 
they again ransacked the house. Into large 
sacks which they had brought with them they 
put the wearing apparel of the family, includ- 
ing twelve rufiled shirts just completed, made 
from linen bought at a high price in Philadel- 
phia. All the plate, a tea and coffee service, a 
large tankard, and every article of silver used 
in a gentleman's establishment, were also 
taken. A silver tankard, which had been used 
the night previous and left at the kitchen fire, 
blackened with smoke and ashes, the thieves 
mistook for pewter, and it alone escaped. 
Out of the silver it contained, a bowl and two 
goblets, marked with the crest of the Morton 
arms (a lion rampant), were afterwards found, 
and are now in my possession. 

"After remaining two hours the robbers 
departed declaring they would return and set 
fire to the house if the family did not remain 
quiet. Exhausted by terror and fatigue it 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 69 

was daybreak before they alarmed the neigh- 
borhood. The traveler who had been cap- 
tured, said he had seen among the trees near 
the church a number of horses fastened, on 
which the robbers undoubtedh^ escaped. 

'*Mr. Morton, though suffering from ill- 
ness, insisted on pursuing the robbers, with 
some of the neighbors. After following sever- 
al routes unsuccessfully, he at length got 
upon their track and pursued them to the 
riverside near Newark, where it is supposed 
they took boat and went over to New York. 

"After my father's return from this jour- 
ney, fatigue and disappointment brought on 
an attack of apoplexy, which in one week ter- 
minated his life, and his famil3^ were plunged 
in the deepest grief. M}^ eldest brother, then a 
youth of nineteen, a student at law with 
Judge Patterson at Raritan, had returned to 
Baskinridge on hearing of the robbery. The 
first intelligence of it and the death of my 
father was brought to Mrs. Kemper by the 
messenger sent for Washington and myself, 
and slie immediately accompanied us home. 
Dr. Kennedy performed the ceremony at the 
funeral, and the procession proceeded to the 
burial ground on the hill, near the church at 
Baskinridge. 

"In September my brother, John Morton, 
on taking his degree at Princeton, delivered a 
valedictory oration, and his youth and deep 
mourning interested and affected his audience. 
From this time my eldest brother resided at 
home; and by his kindness and attention, 
gained my affection and led me to regard him 
as a father. 

"In 1783, peace was concluded, and our 



60 MEMOIRS OF 

family removed to Elizabethtown. Friendly 
intercourse with families of different politics 
was now renewed. At this time mj" mother 
went to New York with a pass from the Com- 
mander-in-chief, Sir Guy Carleton, obtained b\^ 
her friend, Mrs. Smith, whose husband was 
Chief Justice under the Crown. We passed a 
fortnight Avith my mother's aunt, Mrs. Hoff- 
man (Catherine Ernest). With her husband 
and her j^oungest children she was accidental!}^ 
detained in New York, in 1775, until the time 
of departiu'e was gone b}^; and was not al- 
lowed by the British authorities to follow her 
eldest son and daughter, who had gone to 
Elizabethtown to prepare for the recei3tion of 
the family. Mr. Hoffman was accused of be- 
ing favorable to the American cause and was 
imprisoned by the Hessian officers. An illness 
caused b}^ his sufferings ended in his death, 
and he never saw his family united again. His 
widow remained in New^ York. Her daughter 
was married in Morristown; her eldest son 
had entered the American Ami}"; and at the 
time of our visit she resided alone with her 
youngest son, Christian Hoffman. Her house 
stood on Broadway, nearlj^ opposite the City 
Tavern, which was a two-stor\^ house plas- 
tered over and whitewashed, but dingy and 
dilapidated. The street was only half built 
up, the houses of every shape and size. Trin- 
ity- Church, and a church where Grace Church 
now stands, were a heap of ruins. The British 
never injured Episcopal churches, but those 
had been accidentally burnt during the war. 
There was but one good house above St. 
Paul's. All beyond was a square open space 
called 'The Fields,' built round with low, 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 61 

wooden, ordinary houses, — the resort of the 
negroes and soldiers. The Jail, Workhouse, 
and the Almshouse were in this vicinity. 
These are now superceded b3' the City Hall, of 
white marble, and 'The Fields' are counted 
into the Park, and are ornamented with trees. 

''Sir Guy Carleton and his aids passed our 
house eYer\^ day. Manj^ of his officers were 
quartered opposite, at the City Tavern; and 
their evolutions, and those of the British 
troops, were a source of great amusement to 
me. My cousin. Christian Hoffman, often 
took me to see the parade on the Battery, — 
then literally a battery, — the sides toward the 
Bay broken into ramparts with cannon and 
their carriages. The view was thus excluded, 
except from the ramparts. The interior was 
a parade ground with barracks for the sol- 
diers. 

"The city looked ruinous. My mother 
took me to our house in Water Street, still in- 
habited bj^ British officers; and I saw Mr. 
Pitt's statue, at the corner of Wall and Wil- 
liam streets. It had lost an arm, and was 
taken down by the citizens on their return. I 
accompanied my mother to visit Mrs. Smith, 
the wife of the Chief Justice, who received us 
kindly- and brought in her daughter, Harriet 
Smith, a few years younger than myself. 
'This child,' said Mrs. Smith, 'has been born 
since the Rebellion.' — 'Since the Revolution,' 
replied my mother. The lady smiled, and said: 
'Well, well, Mrs. Morton, this is only a truce 
and not a peace; and we shall all be back 
again in full possession in two years.' This 
prophecy happily did not prove true. 

"A few months afterward, on the evacu- 



62 MEMOIRS OF 

ation of New York b}^ the British, Mrs. Smith 
accompanied her husband to Quebec; and he 
became Chief Justice of Lower Canada. His 
daughter, Harriet Smith, married his successor 
in office, Chief Justice Sewell, an exile from 
Massachusetts, and a grandson of Edmund 
Quincy; and in 1797, I met her again in Bos- 
ton, at the house of his aunt, Mrs. Hancock. 

"After my return to EHzabethtown, I vis- 
ited my friend Miss Mason, whose father, Rev. 
Dr. Mason, had taken our house in Baskin- 
ridge, until he could return to New York. 
With her I visited the scenes of m}' childhood, 
and 'the Buildings;' where I saw the Misses 
Livingston and other members of Lord Ster- 
ling's family. 

"In December, 1783, we removed to New 
York. The weather was so line that we 
dined and sat upon deck. I shall never forget 
the delight and transj^ort, even to tears, with 
which my mother and her friends returned to 
their recovered abodes, whence they had been 
driven seven years before. Yet their joy was 
chastened by man3^ sorrowful recollections of 
those who had gone out with them, but w^ho 
did not return. 

^*As Mr. Seaton,wdio resided in our house, 
could not leave it immediately, we hired one in 
William Street for a year. My eldest brother 
opened an office as a lawyer; John Morton 
w^ent into a merchant's counting house; and 
Washington, Clark and niA'self were sent to 
school. As all the Presb^-terian churches had 
been converted b^' the British into barracks, 
riding schools or stables, the congregation 
of Dr. Rodgers, to which my mother be- 
longed, assembled in the French church in 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 63 

Cedar Street until their church in Wall 
Street was finished: when the opening of 
their old place of worship w^as a day of 
thanksgiving, almost as great as that of 
their first return to New York. 

"Mr. Wetzell, the husband of Christina 
Ernest, took no part in politics, and being in 
good business, acquired property, during the 
war. Their eldest daughter had married Se- 
bastian Beauman, a Prussian officer in the 
British service under General Gage. On his 
marriage he left the army and entered busi- 
ness as a wine merchant. He afterwards es- 
poused the American cause, and received a 
Colonel's commission. His military knowl- 
edge and skill as an engineer made him very 
important and he was employed on the w^orks 
at West I^oint, and at the Siege of Yorktown. 
In 1784, when he had returned to my father's 
house in Wall Street, his daughter, Maria 
Beauman, came to visit us. She w^as a lovely 
young woman, engaged to Major Shaw, who 
had served seven years in the American Army 
as aid to General Knox. During his visit he 
embarked from New York to open commercial 
relations between the United States and 
China. They were to be married on his re- 
turn; I remember their parting at mj' mother's 
house. Maria remained with us but her 
health declined, and her life soon terminated. 

"Colonel Beauman had returned to the 
cit}^; and her funeral from his residence, 
through the streets of New York was the only 
one I ever saw conducted in the same style. 
The pall was supported by six young ladies, 
dressed in white; with white hoods, scarfs and 
gloves, — emblematic of the character of the 



64 MEMOIRS OF 

young friend the\^ were attending for the last 
time. 

"The grief of Major Shaw, on his return, 
I shall not attempt to describe. By devoted 
attentions to Mrs. Beauman and her famil\^, he 
gave convincing proofs of his attachment. 

"On the adoption of the Federal Constitu- 
tion, Colonel Beauman received from General 
Washington, as a reward for his faithful ser- 
vices during the war, the office of Postmaster 
of New York, which he held till his death. His 
other daughters were estimable women; but 
none of them ecpialed the lamented Alaria. 

"Mrs. Wct/.cll, (Christina Krnest) sur- 
vived her husband and all her children, but was 
left with considerable property. She died at 
the house of her granddaughter, Mrs. William 
H. Doll, who resided on the banks of the Hud- 
son. Her sister Catherine (Mrs. Hoffman) 
sustained with Christian resignation a series 
of trials and the loss of sight. She was sup- 
ported by an annuity, and cheered by the kind 
attention of my mother and other friends. 

"In 1785, Mr. and Mrs. Kemper returned 
to New York to a convenient house near my 
mother; who with their other children, con- 
tributed ever^^thing requisite to their comfort. 
A long life of exertion was now drawing to a 
close, without adequate reward for their in- 
dustry and perseverance; but they never re- 
gretted their emigration to America, where 
they left their children in the possession of civil 
and religious lilierty. 

"M^^ grandmother was an excellent 
woman, and deserves a tribute from one she 
always distinguished by partial kindness. She 
often gratified me by describing the cities, riv- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 65 

ers, mountains and people of the Old World, 
beyond the great sea over whieh she had come 
through so many changes and with so many 
sacriiices. Often have I shed tears of sympa- 
thy with her, at the sad story of her separa- 
tion from all the dear friends, never to see 
them again in this world. She had a fine 
voice, and sang the German hymns with a 
pathos which earl 3' charmed my ear with 'The 
music of sweet sounds.' But her strains were 
always mournful. The songs of Zion, in her 
native language, carried back her thoughts 
from foreign lands to scenes beyond the world 
of waters, to which her heart always turned 
with fond affection. Maria Regina Ernest 
Kemper, died in New York Cit^^ in her 
sevent3'-eighth 3'ear, November 6, 1789. Dur- 
ing the five years Mr. Kemper survived his 
wife, his privations were alleviated hy the at- 
tentions of his children and grandchildren. 

"My mother removed him to her house, 
and was devoted to his comfort and amuse- 
ment. She read his German books* and the 
newspapers to him daily. He had the nation- 
al love of music; and m3' piano was placed in 
an apartment adjacent to his own, that he 
might hear me pla}' and sing as often as he 
wished. To the last days of his life he was 
patient, sensible, and resigned, and, after a 
short illness, departed this life, in 1794, at the 
age of eight^'-seven. Thus closed the lives of 
all the first emigrants of our family who 
came from Germ an 3' to America. 

"After the Federal Constitution was 
adopted, I remember seeing General Washing- 

-The (rerman Bible was ^ven to BUbop Kemper, of WUconain, ftod la 

DOW in the pouegaion of big deacea-lanu. 



66 MEMOIRS OF 

ton land, on the 23d of April, 1789, and make 
his entrance into New York, when he came to 
take the office of President of the United 
States. I was at a window in a store on the 
wharf where he was received. Carpets were 
spread to the carriage prepared for him; but 
he preferred walking through the crowded 
streets, and was attended by Governor Clin- 
ton and many officers and gentlemen. He fre- 
quently^ bowed to the multitude and took off 
his hat to the ladies at the windows, who 
waved their handkerchiefs, threw flowers be- 
fore him, and shed tears of joy and congratu- 
lation. The whole city was one scene of tri- 
umphal rejoicing. His name, in every form of 
decoration, appeared on the fronts of the 
houses; and the streets through Avhich he 
passed to the Governor's mansion, were orna- 
mented with flags, silk banners of various 
colors, wreaths of flowers and bunches of 
evergreen. Never did an^- one enjoy such a 
triumph as Washington; who indeed 'read his 
history in a nation's eyes.' 

"On the 30th of April, ^vhen Washington 
took the oath of office as President of the 
United States, the ceremonj^ took place in the 
balcon3^ of the old Federal Hall, as it was 
afterward named, which stood in the centre 
of four streets. I was on the roof of the first 
house in Broad Street, which belonged to Cap- 
tain Prince, the father of one of m^' school 
companions; and so near to Washington I 
could almost hear him speak. The windows 
and roofs of the hoiises were crowded; and in 
the streets the throng was so dense that it 
seemed one might literally walk on the heads 
of the people. The balcony' of the hall was in 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 67 

full view of this assembled multitude. In the 
centre of it was placed a table, with a rich 
covering of red velvet, and upon this, on a 
crimson velvet cushion la}^ a large and elegant 
Bible. This was all the paraphernalia for the 
august scene. All ej-es were fixed upon the 
balcony; when, at the appointed hour Wash- 
ington entered, accompanied hy the Chancel- 
lor of the State of New York, who was to ad- 
minister the oath; b^^ John Adams, the 
Vice President; Governor Clinton, General 
Schuyler, Colonel Beauman, and. many other 
distinguished men. 

"B}' the great bod\' of the people, he had 
probably never been seen, except as a military'' 
hero. The first in war was now to be the first 
in peace. His entrance on the balcqny was 
announced b}' universal shouts of jo}- and wel- 
come. His appearance was most solemn and 
dignified. Advancing to the front of the bal- 
cony, he laid his hand upon his heart, bowed 
several times, and then retired to an arm- 
chair near the table. The populace appeared 
to understand that the scene had overcome 
him, and were at once hushed in profound si- 
lence. After a few moments, Washington 
arose and came forward. Chancellor Living- 
ston read the oath according to the form pre- 
scribed b}^ the Constitution, and Washington 
repeated it, resting his hand upon the Bible. 
Mr. Otis, the SecTctarj^ of the Senate, then 
took the Bible to raise it to the lips of Wash- 
ington, who stooped and kissed the book. At 
this moment a signal was given by raising a 
flag upon the cupola of the Hall, for a general 
discharge of Artillerj^ on the Battery. All the 
bells in the city rang out a peal of joy, and the 



68 MEMOIRS OF 

assembled multitudes sent forth a universal 
shout. 

"The President again bowed to the peo- 
ple, and then retired from a scene such as the 
proudest monarch never enjoyed. Many en- 
tertainments were given, both public and pri- 
vate, and the city was illuminated in the even- 

"From this time President Washington 
resided in New^ York as long as Congress con- 
tinued to hold its sessions in that city. He 
lived in a large house in Cherry Street, and al- 
ways received the highest proofs of affection 
from the citizens. On one occasion, when he 
w^as ill, I remember seeing straw laid down in 
the adjacent streets, and chains drawn across 
those nearest his house to prevent his being 
disturbed by carts and carriages. I have often 
seen him ricle through the streets of New York 
on horseback, followed by a single attendant. 
The people always regarded him with atten- 
tion and great respect. What must have been 
his feelings of delight and gratification on 
such surveys of the cit3^ and the country 
which he had so largely contributed to pre- 
serve! Reviving commerce, busy streets, free- 
dom and safet^^, now marked the places whore 
ruin and distress had been inflicted by hostile 
armies. 

"All the ladies in the city visited Mrs. 
Washington. My mother did not take me 
with her on this occasion, as I was thought 
too young. Within a few weeks Mrs. Wash- 
ington returned these visits; I remember her 
coming to our house in Broadwaj^ attended 
by Colonel Humphrey, one of General Wash- 
ington's aids, who resided in his family. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 69 

"While Congress remained in New York, 
its sessions were held in the Federal Hall. I 
was taken down there and heard a debate on 
the propriety of their removal to Philadelphia. 
Though they saw msinj fair reasons for re- 
maining in New York, the public good required 
the change. 

"In the autumn of 1794, I went to Phila- 
delphia, and passed the ensuing winter with 
my aunt, Mrs. Jackson. Mr. Wolcott succeed- 
ed Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, in 
Februar^^ 1795, and at his house I saw^ all the 
eminent men then in public life — Hamilton, 
Ellsworth, Pickering, General Knox, and 
others too numerous to mention. 

"One evening I accompanied Mrs. Wolcott 
to Mrs. Washington's drawing-room where I 
was introduced to General W^avshington, and 
kindly noticed by him. The ladies were seat- 
ed in a circle; Mrs. Adams, as ladj' of the Vice 
President, next to Mrs. Washington, and the 
rest according to rank; while the President 
and the gentlemen walked about the room 
and conversed with each other, or with the 
ladies. 

"Airs. Peters, of Georgetown, a grand- 
daughter of Mrs. Washington, had just ar- 
rived in Philadelphia as a bride; and her sister, 
Miss Custis, afterwards Mrs. Lewis, w^as also 
present. 

"In a former visit to Philadelphia, in 
1789, I saw Dr. Franklin in the streets in a 
Sedan chair. At Mrs Wolcott's I became ac- 
quainted with Mr. and Mrs. George Cabot, of 
Boston, and when Congress rose, and thej^ 
passed through New York on their return, 
they were visited bj^ m^^ brother and sister, 



70 ISIKMOIKS OF 

and every one was nincli pleased with them. 
They spoke to me of their nieee, Annie Cabot 
Lowell; showed me her letters; and expressed 
a wish that I wonkl eome to Boston and be- 
come aeqnainted with her. In July, 1705, I 
went to Princeton to stay with President 
Smith's daiighter nntil the autumn; but in Au- 
gust I was recalled home to accompany' my 
brother, John Morton, to Boston. I obeyed 
the summons with great regret, being agreea- 
bly established at Princeton with plans lor the 
summer, which I rclintiuished with reluctance 
to go to Boston. The chief pleasure I had an- 
ticipated from this excursion was that of vis- 
iting Air. and Mrs. George Cabot, who, I had 
been informed, resided in the environs of that 
town; and passing through Roxbury I selected 
the mansion of Judge Lowell as]iossibly theirs. 
As we drove over the Neck, and through the 
main street of Boston, I little imagined I was 
entering the place of my future residence. The 
ranges of wooden houses, all situated with 
one end toward the street, appeared to me 
very singular. At that time Boston, com- 
pared with New York, was a small town. 
There were no brick sidewalks except in a iKirt 
of the main street, near the Old South, tlieu 
called Cowhill. The streets were paved with 
pebbles; and, except when driven on one side 
by carts and carriages, every one walked in 
the middle of the street where the pavement 
was the smoothest. We drove to Mr. Archi- 
bald's boarding ]ilace in Bowdoin Square, 
where we were well accpiaintcd. We sent our 
letters, and Mr. Storcr and his sister, and 
many others callcil on us. Mr. and Mrs. 
Craigie soon called and nivited me to spend 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 71 

the reinainder of my visit with them at Cam- 
bridge; and 1 aeeepted the invitation for the 
next week. On Sunday morning 1 went with 
Miss Storer to Brattle Street Chnreh, and 
was there reminded of deseriptions of a former 
day in England. The broad aisle was lined by 
gentlemen in the costume of the last century, 
— in wigs, with cocked hats and scarlet 
cloaks. Many peculiarities in dress, charac- 
ter, and manners dif[tn-ing from those of Phila- 
delphia or New York were striking to mc. In 
the afternoon Mr. and ]\Iiss Storer proposed 
to take me to hear Mr. Kirkland, a popular 
young clergyman. Thc\' consulted where we 
should sit, and decided to go to Mr. Ouincy's 
pew. This was the first time I heard the 
name. We proceeded to the New South 
Church, and after the service, Mr. Quincy was 
introduced to me, and in the evening, came to 
Mr. Storer's. The next morning he called on 
me and niA^ brother, and I heard the gentlemen 
at our lodgings speak in high terms of his 
character, talents, and family. 

"The day following, apparcntl^v to the 
disappointment of m\' friends in Boston, I ac- 
companied Mrs. Craigie to Cam1)ridge, and 
was cordially welcomed to her delightful resi- 
dence. Mr. Craigie was a native of Boston. 
During the war he was attached to the medi- 
cal staff of the American Army, and thus 
formed a friendship with Dr. Jackson, of Phila- 
delphia, who introduced him to our family, in 
which he became as intimate as a brother. 
After the peace, he opened a large store, as a 
druggist, in New York; and b3^ successful spec- 
ulations in United States certificates, ac- 
cumulated a large fortune. He then returned 



72 MEMOIRS OF 

to Boston, and purchased the house and estate 
of John Vassal, the headquarters of Washing- 
ton in Cambridge. 

"He had recently married a beautiful 
woman. His establishment was complete 
and elegant, and he lived in a stjde of splendor 
and hospitality. Kvery day there was a par- 
ty to dine and pass the evening. He expressed 
gratitude for the attentions he had received 
from my famih^, and was happy to return 
them. 

"Mrs. Craigie evinced great interest in me, 
and gave me her opinion of her guests. Of Mr. 
Quincy she spoke in the highest terms, and 
said his name she had always been taught to 
honor and respect. 

"When Mr. Craigie heard me saj^ that I 
wished to visit Mrs. Cabot, he ordered his car- 
riage to convey me to their residence in Brook- 
line; and their pleasure at this unexpected 
meeting was equal to my own. The next day 
they came to Mr. Craigie's and invited us to 
drive. My brother accompanied me to Brook- 
line on the daj" appointed and there I was in- 
troduced to Miss Lowell and others of the 
Higginson and Lowell families. Every affec- 
tionate attention was lavished upon me by 
Mr. and Mrs. Cabot; and, had my engage- 
ments permitted, I would gladly have passed 
some days with them. 

"Miss Lowell soon called at Mrs. Craigie's 
and engaged me to visit her; and I met her 
and other ladies at Fresh Pond, at a party 
given b^^ Mr. William Sullivan and Mr. 
Quincy. 

"The time I spent with mj^ friends at 
Cambridge was as delightful as novelty and 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAU MAN. 73 

kind attention could render it. I took leave 
of them with sincere regret; and Mrs. Craigie 
conveyed me in her carriage to Boston, 
w^here we parted with mutual affection. I 
passed the last week in Boston with Marj^ 
Storer, at the house of her brother, Mr. George 
Storer; and was taken to see the new State 
House. I went up on Beacon Hill, read the in- 
scription on the monument, and walked in 
'the Mall,' which at that time I could not 
think equal to the Batter^'. In all these ex- 
cursions Mr. Quincy Avas my constant attend- 
ant. 

"In 1792, eight years after the death of 
my cousin, Maria Beauman, Major Shaw^ 
married Miss Philips, of Boston. As his 
friends, our family visited his wife in New 
York, when he sailed in 1793, on a last voyage 
to China; and we paid her every attention in 
our power until she returned home. An ele- 
gant house near Bowdoin Square had been 
built for her residence; but Major Shaw died 
on the homeward vo^^age, and his widow and 
friends suffered the loss of one of the most ex- 
cellent of men. 

"In 1795, Mrs. Shaw was passing the 
summer in Dedham, at the residence of Mr. 
and Airs. Dowse, who were then in England. 
Her nephew, Mr. Quincy, having discovered 
the intimate, friendship which had existed be- 
tween my famil}' and Major Shaw, informed 
her I was in Boston, and brought Miss 
Storer and mj^self a pressing invitation to vis- 
it her at Dedhain, where she gave us an affec- 
tionate welcome. Mr, Ouinc\', who accom- 
panied us in a post-chaise, insisted on return- 
ing over Milton Hill to show me the prospect. 



74 MEMOIRS OF 

The view of his house and estate at Quincy 
from thence was probabh^ his real object, as I 
remember he said that there he placed all his 
plans of happiness. During these excursions I 
became much acquainted with Mr. Quincy. 
All I had heard of his character tended to raise 
him in mj^ estimation; and I left Boston with 
very different views and sentiments from those 
with which I had entered it. 

"We returned to New York by land, then a 
journey of eight or ten days. At New Haven 
a letter directed me to repair to Long Island, 
as an alarm from the yellow fever had dis- 
persed our feimilj. Accordingly, we crossed 
the ferry above New York to Brooklyn, where 
I was welcomed bj'^ Mr. and Mrs. Morton, 
who had taken a house directly opposite the 
city; and here I had time for recollections and 
thought after the fatigue of the journey, and 
the scenes of interest through v^^hich I had 
lately passed. I could hardly determine how 
to read the page of futurity, which seemed to 
open before me. 

"Our situation on the heights of Brook- 
lyn, commanding a view of the entire eastern 
side of New York, was delightful. I often 
spent whole afternoons with my little nephews 
on the banks of the Bast River, among the 
trees, looking over to New York, w^hich was as 
still as a citj^ of the dead. Not a sound, not a 
motion could be observed; no smoke from a 
single chimney, nor even a boat moving near 
one of the wharves, where all used to be noise, 
bustle and animation. 

"After manj^ weeks of suspense and anxi. 
ety, the city was declared safe, and the inhab. 
itants returned. My mother was soon re-es_ 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 75 

tablished in our house in Water Street. I 
went home, and my brother's family returned 
to Broadway. 

"In December, Mr, SulHvan and Mr. Ouin- 
cy arrived, on their way to Philadelphia. 
They received every attention from mj broth- 
ers, and were much admired in societ3\ Mr. 
Quincy brought me letters from Miss Lowell 
and Miss Storer. They went on to Philadel- 
phia, Mr. Quincy intending to go on to South 
Carolina; but he soon reappeared in New 
York, being called home hj the failure of a 
man to whom part of his property had been 
intrusted; and with the probability- that our 
meeting would be deferred for a long time, I 
consented to correspond with him. 

*'In the summer of 1796, 1 went to Prince- 
ton, at Commencement, as mj brother, Clark 
Morton, was to take his degree. Mr. Quincy 
came to Princeton at Commencement, and we 
met frequentlj^ in society- there and in Philadel- 
phia. I visited Mrs. Jackson, and accompan- 
ied her to Easton; where we passed a fortnight 
in the familj' of Mr. Sitgreaves, who had mar- 
ried my cousin, Mary Kemper; a man of fine 
talents, polished manners, and commanding 
personal apiDcarance. He resided many years 
at Easton, in a beautiful situation at the con- 
fluence of the Delaware, the Lehigh, and the 
Bushkill, commanding a view of the three 
chasms in the Alleghany- Ridge, called the Del- 
aware Gap, the Lehigh Gap, and the Wind 
Gap." 

The following letters were written at this 
period: 

Miss E. S. Morton to Mrs. Jackson, Phil- 
adelphia. 



76 MEMOIRS OF 

"New York, Dec. 27, 1795. 

'*Mr. Quincy and Mr. Sullivan, of Boston, 
who offer to convey this letter to 3^011 ni\^ dear 
aunt, are both generally admired in society 
here. Mr. Sullivan brought me a letter from 
our friend, Susan Binne\'; who expresses a 
grateful remembrance of your kind attention 
to her. 

"My affection for 3'ou (one of the first at- 
tachments of my childhood) remains so in- 
timately woven with my happiness, that it 
will be. I trust, one of the last I shall lose. I 
delight to indulge in recollections of the time I 
passed with you last winter, — our morning 
conversations in the nurserv, our evening ex- 
cursions to the theatre, and our discussion of 
what we saw and heard. Though usualh' the 
same way of thinking we had great pleasure 
in comparing our opinions." 

"New York, Jan. 21, 1796. 

"Your letter by Mr. Johnson, my dear 
aunt, is flattering to mj^ pride, and gratefu' to 
mj" better feelings. The chief w4sh of my heart 
has been to gain the affections of the good. 

"It is too proud to be gratified by compli- 
ments and can be satisfied onlj^ with esteem 
and love * * * You have pleased me by ap- 
proving my friends, — a kind of flatter3^ to 
which we are all open. I am ever disposed to 
like those who praise what I admire. 

"That you have discovered and distin- 
guished the merits of Mr. Ouinc3^ is not sur- 
prising: for I believe penetration and justice to 
be ec^ualh^ leading features of your character. 

"Tell Mr. Sullivan that we are to have a 
party at my brother's house to-morrow even- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 77 

ing, and that we have been wishing he could 
be one of the company. I shall have my dis- 
patches from Boston in readiness; for I appre.. 
hend New York will not long detain him after 
dazzling and being dazzled by the meridian of 
Philadelphia." 

"New York, April 18th, 1796. 

''I cannot withhold from you, my dear 
aunt, so great a pleasure as that of forming 
an acquaintance with the gentleman who will 
give 3^ou this letter. He is a son of Mr. Cop- 
ley, the celebrated painter in London, who is 
an American. If he should hand you this letter 
himself, and if you have an opportunity of 
conversing with him, a highly cultivated 
mind, and polished manners, will gain your 
approbation. 

"Will you do me the favor to introduce 
Mr. Copley* to Mrs. Wolcott, and to ask her 
to like him for my sake. * * * 

"Your Affectionate 
"E. S. Morton." 

President Smith to Miss E. S. Morton. 

"Princeton, Feb. 27, 1796. 
"You think, perhaps, my dear Susan, that 
I have forgotten my promise of another letter; 
but I have been assiduously attending our 
Legislature to gain from them a small pit- 
tance, which will not answer half the purpose 
for which thcA' granted it. It is appropriated, 
in the law, to repair the college buildings, re- 
plenish the library, and purchase a philosoph- 
ical apparatus. But that apparatus alone 

♦Afterwards Lord Lyndhurst, and Lord High ChaiiceUor of Eng- 
land. 



78 MEMOIRS OF 

A?^ould require a thousand dollars more than 
tlie^^ have been pleased to assign. To make 
up this sum I wish to write to all those who 
have graduated here since I came, to request 
them to beg a few dollars each in his neigh- 
borhood, and send them to me for this pur- 
pose. If I live I am resolved, if possible, to 
have in future one of the best apparatuses on 
the continent. 

"But wliA' all this detail to 3'ou? Because 
I know you are so good, that you feel a SA-m- 
pathj' with me in every object which inter- 
ests me. * * * * 

"Alas! the insult that a forward spark 
has committed on my paper! If I were like 
Crowlej' or some modern wits, I would sa\' it 
is an emblem of the ardor with which spark- 
ish beaux fly to the paper which bears 3'our 
name. I might saj', if I were a younger man, 
many conceits as forced as these; and I have 
heard some young and flippant gentlemen 
plajang the gallant, very charmingly as they 
believed, with wit Cj[uite as strained. Your 
good sense, I am convinced, alwa^^s knows 
ho\\r to estimate the exuberance of a fe^ncy 
much more pleased with itself than the lad3' to 
which it pretends to be paying homage. 

"I will not say that the ardor of my sen- 
timents burn m^^ paper, but assure you and 
Frances of the afi'ection of a father. 

"Samuel S. Smith." 

Miss Lowell to Miss E. S. Morton. 

"Boston, Jan. 6, 1797. 
^^My Dear Friend: — The promise your last 
letter contained, of writing another b^^ Mr. 
Copley was not the least pleasing of its con- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 79 

tents; but the society of New York and Phila- 
delphia have charms so seductive, that I fear 
it v^ill be long before he returns to us. The 
quickness of feeling^ and susceptibility of pleas- 
ure, which are striking traits in that gentle- 
man's character, are the occasion of his form- 
ing frequent and warm prepossessions; and 
wherever he goes, will create him friends he 
w411 find it hard for him to leave. Regret, 
however, in such minds, is seldom a lasting sen- 
timent; since new objects of interest easily sup- 
ply the place of those separated hj absence. 
"Of Mr. Quincy I should say much, for he 
has won me by entreaty, and bribed me by 
flattery and attention; and all this that I may 
say handsome things of him to you. But Mr. 
Quincy is so much better qualified to recom- 
mend himself, that I enter upon my ofiiice with 
real diffidence. Indeed, of all his excellencies I 
shall only at this time notice one: it is a just 
and delicate taste in the selection of his friends. 
I am aware of the apparent vanitj'- of the last 
remark; but it will be softened when I add, 
that Mr. Quincy never distinguished me as a 
favorite until he knew me as your friend. 
Since I have returned I have met him only twice 
in public, and then we had but one subject. I 
cannot do justice to the manner of treating 
that. By the ladies he is charged with cold- 
ness and indifference; but certainh^ I sometimes 
touch a string which vibrates to sensations 
very opposite to those of apathy. Last even- 
ing he was unusually animated; and indeed a 
very brilliant assembly where every face Avore 
a smile of satisfaction was sufflicient to inspire 
everyone. * * * 

"Your friend, 

"A. C. Lowell." 



80 MEIMOIRS OF 

''In May 17l>7, Mr. OuIik-v canio :iL:alii to 
New York. His mother, who had a hir^x* and 
clo^atU lioiiso ill Pearl Street. Host on, ])ro- 
posed that our enga^enieiif^.'^houhl ho luUdkHl, 
and that we shoidd rev'^ide with hor, and this 
offer was t^rateUdly aeeeptecL 

"The regret ot niv taniily at the prospeet 
of niY removal at a (hstanee was tempereil by 
the eontiilenee with wliieh they entrusted my 
happiness to sueh a IriencL 

"When otn- arrani^ements were einn])leted, 
President Smitli eame h-oni Trineeton to per- 
form the ».\'rouu>n\ ol" our marria«;e, wliieh 
took ]>laee at my nuUlier's lunise in Water 
Street, New York, on the (»tii ot' June. 1707. 
The i>idv persons piesent on tliai oeeasion, be- 
sides my own family, were my uneK> naniel 
Kemper, Mr. and Mis. Powse, and the Rev. 
Dr. Rogers, of New York. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Morton, Mr. and Mrs. 
Dowse, aiul Washingtmi Mcn'ton, aeeompan- 
ied us to llaerlem. where we dined; anil then 1 
parteil with my ehlest brt)ther, w hon« 1 had 
long regarded as my ehief proteetor, and en- 
tered on the untried seenes of life with another 
guardian. livery thing was new to me in 
prospeet. 1 had never seen Air. Ouiney's 
mother nor any of his rehitives except ^Ir. and 
Mrs. Storer, Mrs. Shaw, and Wv. and Mrs. 
Dowse; but seenre in the worth and tlisinter- 
ested attaehnieni oi him to whom 1 was iu>w 
united, 1 felt no fears, no apprehension. 

"\Ye travelleil pleasantly in a private car- 
riage and t\nn-; ami reached Marlborough, 
Massachusetts, in the evening ot the eighth 
day ot our lourncv. 

" riic next uuMiuu'' Mr. Ouincv went to 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 81 

inform Mrs. Ann Quincy, the widow of his 
grandfather,* of our arrival. Our reception 
from her and from her son-in-law and daughter, 
the Rev. Mr. Packard and his wife, with whom 
she resided, was all that affection could dictate. 

"At noon we saw a carriage approach 
which brought Mr. Quincy's mother, accom- 
panied by his cousins, Miriam Philips and 
Hannah Storer, whom she had selected as ap- 
propriate attendants on her new daughter. 

"Mrs. Quincy was then fifty-three years 
of age, still retaining traces of great personal 
beauty, with fine expression of countenance, 
and cordial and graceful manners. 

"Pier dress tmited richness with elegance 
and good taste. I was much agitated at the 
thought of this meeting; but from the moment 
I saw her and received her first welcome and 
embrace, I felt at ease, and sure that we 
should promote each other's happiness. Mr. 
Quincy's satisfaction was complete, when he 
beheld me with his mothei and surrounded by 
approving friends. 

"The next day we had a very gay jour- 
ney to Boston in the carriage with Mrs. Quin- 
cy and her companions, sending our luggage 
by the one which had brought us from New 
York. 

"We drove over Cambridge Bridge, and 
through Boston to the residence of Mrs. Quincy, 
in Pearl Street, where she again welcomed us to 
her home. In the afternoon. Miss Lowell 
came, delighted to receive me as an inhabitant 
of Boston, and with Miss Storer and Miss 
Philips, remained several days. These ladies 

"Josiah Quincy, of Braintree, MasBacbasetts. 



82 MEMOIRS OF 

acted as bridesmaids, though we did not re- 
ceive companj^ in formal style. 

''The nearest relatives of Mr. Quincy had 
been invited for the evening. They were Mr. 
and Mrs. Storer, Mr. and Mrs. Philips, with 
their families, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Ma- 
son and their parents, Mr. and Mrs. William 
Powell and Miss Anna Powell, Mr. and Mrs. 
Daniel D. Rogers, Mrs. J. Powell and Miss 
Broomfield, Mr. John Philips, and man^^ oth- 
ers whose names I cannot enumerate. * * * 

"At the Commencement of 1797, the first 
I ever attended at Harvard College, we dined 
v^ath Mr. and Mrs. Craigie at Cambridge, 
with more than a hundred guests. ***** 

''Mary Storer, who had married Mr. 
Johnson, of New York, the year previous, 
often alluded to our unexpected change of 
residence. Accompanied by my sister, she 
came to Boston in September. Mrs. Quincy 
spent several weeks with Mrs. Dowse, at Ded- 
ham, at this time, to leave us in full oossession 
of her establishment. Miss Binney and Miss 
Foster, the niece of Mr. Craigie, passed some 
days with us; and our engagements were con- 
stant during my sister's visit. After her re- 
turn to New York, Mrs. Quincy came home 
and we were constant companions during the 
winter. * * * 

"The health of Mrs. Quincy gradually de- 
clined; she at length consented to consult a 
physician, and everj-^ effort was made for her 
restoration. In the spring of 1798, we were 
made happy by the birth of an infant; and our 
mother was as much interested in the event as 
ourselves. Three days afterward, my phj^si- 
cian informed me imprudently that the mala- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 83 

dy from which she suffered would prove fatal. 
I consequently became dangerously ill; and 
when my child was ten days old she suddenly 
expired. 

**In consequence of my illness, I was kept 
in ignorance of this event. The friends and 
relatives of Mrs. Quincy assembled at her 
brother's, Mr. William Philips, in Tremont 
Street. Her son attended her remains to 
Quincy, and placed them beside those of his 
father, in obedience to the request of both 
parents; and thus fulfilled the last filial duty. 

"Several weeks elapsed before I became 
aware of the loss I had sustained, my 
physician, alarmed at the eftect of his own im- 
prudence, being anxious to postpone the agi- 
tation and grief such intelligence Vk^ould occa- 
sion. After I had recovered sufficient strength 
to bear the excitement of the meeting, our 
friends and relatives gathered around me, and 
my own mother came on from New York. * * 

"The first occurrence which turned the 
course of our thoughts was the appointment 
of Mr. Quincy, by the authorities of the town 
of Boston, to deliver the oration on the 4th of 
July, 1798, when I heard him speak in public 
for the first time. His audience in the Old 
South were excited by the aspect of political 
affairs; and I observed that Colonel T. H. Per- 
kins (the commander of the Cadets) and other 
gentlemen were affected to tears by his impas- 
sioned address. 

"Our residence in the family mansion at 
Quincy (which has since been our abode for 
many happy years) commenced that summer, 
and then began my friendship with President 
and Mrs. Adams. * ♦ * 



84 MEMOIRS OF 

"In 1801, we made a journe}^ to New- 
York in our carriage, and passed some weeks 
with my eldest brother and his famih'. The3^ 
then resided at Greenwich, two miles from 
New York, on an estate which our grand- 
father, Mr. Kemper, had taken on a lease from 
Trinit}'^ Church. The high banks of the Hud- 
son, fringed with trees, on which the house 
was situated, commanded an extensive view 
of that noble river, and the grounds were or- 
namented with trees and shrubs, and a fine 
hawthorne hedge. When the lease expired 
this estate was leveled and divided into city 
lots; and the site of my brother's house is now 
marked bv Morton Street, in the cit}^ of New- 
York. 

^^Mj brother, Washington Morton, who in 
1797 married Cornelia Schujder, a daughter 
of General Schuyler, of Albany, and my uncle 
Daniel Kemper and his familj^ also resided at 
Greenwich. * * * 

"In the spring of 1802 1 gave a large party 
on the return of Mr. and Mrs. John Ouincy 
Adams from Europe. Our house in Pearl 
Street was thrown open to all our acquaint- 
ances, and a ball and supper arranged in the 
most elegant style of that period. 

"The following summer Mr. and Mrs. 
Wolcott passed a month with us. Their num- 
erous friends, George Cabot, Fisher, Ames, the 
Higginson and Pomeroy families, and man3^ 
others gathered around them; and were con- 
stantly engaged in a succession of parties and 
entertainments, among which were included 
several visits to President and Mrs. Adams, at 
Quincy. The time passed delightfully^ away in 
the companionship of these distinguished 
friends." 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN, 85 

After the preceding pages were written bj'- 
Mrs, Quincy at leisure moments, they were 
copied into a volume by her daughter, Marga- 
ret Morton Quincy; from whose manuscript 
they have been prepared for the press, and the 
narrative concluded by Eliza Susan Quincy.* 

(journal written by ELIZA SUSAN QUINCY.) 

"Since the close of the last centurA^ Bos- 
ton has almost lost its identity, by changes 
within its precincts. The mansion where Mrs. 
Quincy was received on her marriage stood 
on the Southern slope of Fort Hill, surround- 
ed by open fields. 

"These are now covered by brick houses 
and granite stores, and its site is marked by 
the Quincy Block. It was a handsome edifice 
of three stories, the front ornamented with 
Corinthian pilasters; and pillars of the same 
order supported a porch, from which three 
flights of steps of red sandstone, and a broad 
walk of the same material, descended to Pearl 
Street. Honeysuckles were tvrined round the 
porch, and high damask rosebushes grew be- 
neath the windows. The estate extended to 
High Street; and at the corner of Pearl Street 
stood the stables and coach-house. * * * 

"Mr. Merchant, a Bostonian, engaged in 
the commerce then opening with China, erect- 
ed the house on this estate, but died before its 
completion. 

"In 1792, it was sold with the land now- 
comprehended in Quincy and Pearl Place, by 
his executors, William Foster and Harrison 

«Pabli8hed in Boaton, Msea., April 20, 1861. 



86 MEMOIRS OF 

Gray Otis, for a thousand pounds, to William 
Philips, who caused his daughter to remove to 
this mansion, which she arranged w4th taste 
and elegance. The spacious hall was carpeted 
with straw mattings, among the first import- 
ed from China, and furnished with arm-chairs 
and a lounge of cane. The dining and draw- 
ing rooms, which opened from the hall on 
either side, had cornices of stucco; and the 
walls were hung with a plain green paper, re- 
lieved by a broad highly colored border, rep- 
resenting flowers and shells. 

^'The furniture of the apartments was of 
mahogany, carved and inlaid. Four Chinese 
drawings in water-colors (views of Canton 
and its vicinity) and an engraving of Stuart's 
portrait of Washington hung in the dining- 
room, which communicated with a china- 
closet, and with a clock-room, in which stood 
a high, old fashioned time piece, and a mahog- 
any secretary and bookcase, with mirrors in 
the doors. With the exception of the en- 
trance-hall, the carpets w^ere of Brussels and 
Axminster. Graceful wreaths of flowers, on a 
white ground, formed the pattern in the draw- 
ing room; in w^hich apartment there v^ere 
large mirrors and cut-glass chandeliers. 

''Among the ornaments were several rich 
vases and an ivory model of a pagoda, pre- 
sented by Major Shaw, in 1792, to Mrs. Abi- 
gail Quincy. A large apartment in the second 
story was devoted to the library, the books 
being arranged in mahogany cases with 
glazed doors. As the situation of the house 
was elevated, it commanded an extensive view 
of the town, crowned by the State House, and 
by the monument on the beautiful cone of Bea- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 87 

con Hill. Mr. Wolcott in 1802, admired these 
structures, and said: 'The Bostonians, like the 
Romans, may boast of their Capitol and their 
triumphal column.' Mrs. Quincy replied: 
'They are more like the Athenians. A grass- 
hopper ought to be placed on Faneuil Hall.' 
She was not then aware, that as a crest of the 
Fanueils a grasshopper had actually long sur- 
mounted the Cradle of Liberty. 

"Before the American Revolution, Gover- 
nor Oliver resided in Oliver Street. * * * AH 
the churches in Boston except the Old South, 
the Stone Chapel, the Brattle Street, and the 
North Church, have been either rebuilt or 
founded. * * * 

"The mansion, which in 1789 became the 
summer residence of Mrs. Quincy, and in 1861 
continues that of the family,* was erected in 
1770, by Josiah Quincy, of Braintree, on an 
estate of several hundred acres purchased of 
the Sachem ofMos, — Wechusett, in 1635, by 
Edmund Quincy, of England, and which has 
remained unalienated. It is a well propor- 
tioned edifice of wood, two stories in height, 
with attic forming a half story, the roof fin- 
ished with a carved balustrade and eaves. * * 

"The fireplace is of brown stone. The 
cast iron chimney backs are stamped with the 
date of the erection of the house; and on one is 
a bust of General Wolfe, with military troph- 
ies. In 1770, it was deemed a spacious and 
elegant mansion, and the size of the panes of 
glass in the windows, fourteen inches by ten, 
excited the admiration and curiosity of the 
neighborhood. * * 

♦In 1877, the residence of Eliza 8. Quincy, the editor of the tutobiog- 
raphy of her mother, and the writer of this memoir, and of her sister, Abbf 
Philips Quincy, and Maria Sophia Quincy. 



88 MEMOIRS OF 

"This residence was the home of Josiah 
Quincy, of Braintree, during the exciting- 
scenes of the Revolution. Here he bade adieu 
to his only surviving sons, — one exiled from 
his country by the success of the patriotic 
cause, vsrhich the other sacrificed his life to 
promote; and here in brighter days, he corres- 
ponded with Washington, enjoj^ed the society 
of Bowdoin and Franklin and their contem- 
poraries, and watched the infancy and child- 
hood of his grandson, to whom, in 1784, he 
bequeathed his portrait, bj' Coplej'-, and this 
estate. 

"With characteristic sensibility^ and en- 
thusiasm, Mrs. Quinc}^ appreciated the inter- 
esting associations of the place. It became 
her favorite abode, where she delighted to re- 
ceive the children and friends of the former own- 
er, and to make them at home under her roof. 

"In 1813, Mrs. Quincy formed a friend- 
ship which continued through life with Judge 
Vanderkemp, of Trenton, New York, who 
came to Ouincj^ on a visit to President Adams, 
with whom he had been acquainted in Hol- 
land. Francis Adrian Vanderkemp was born 
at Pampen, in the Netherlands, in 1752. After 
attaining eminence as a military officer, a 
scholar and a theologian, his patriotic efforts 
in the support of the liberties of his country 
rendered him obnoxious to the ruling powers; 
and in 1788, he emigrated to the United States 
of America with his famil^^ He brought let- 
ters from Lafaj^ette to General Washington, 
visited him at Mount Vernon, and was order- 
ed to establish himself among his countrymen 
in New York, 

"He resided at Trenton, Oneida County, 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 89 

in that State; and was employed by Governor 
DeWitt Clinton to translate twenty-five folios 
of ancient Dutch records, preserved in the 
archives of New York. 

"The German descent of Mrs. Quincj^ in- 
terested him; and he requested an account of 
her family, to send to Professor Kemper, of 
Ley den, with whom he was in correspon- 
dence. Professor Kemper was interested 
and gratified by the account of the German 
ancestry of Mrs. Quincy, transmitted by Mr. 
Vanderkemp; and requested him to forward to 
her an engraved likeness of himself, his coat of 
arms, and an extract from his letter in which 
he stated that his grandfather, Philip Kemper, 
came from IvO\ver Germany; but that as he 
lost his parents at ten years of age, he knew 
but little of his paternal ancestry, and was un- 
certain if the arms of his father were brought 
from Germanj^ or assumed in Holland. 

"The engraving enclosed bore such a 
striking resemblance to Jacob Kemper as to be 
thought his likeness by the elder relatives of 
Mrs. Quincy, when it was shown to them ^th 
the name concealed. His seal, on which the 
arms ^vere engraved, was lost during his resi- 
dence in New Jersey, and no copj^^^as retained. 
They could not, therefore, be compared wdth 
those of Professor Kemper, who, it was in- 
ferred from various coincidences, \vas the 
grandson of the eldest brother of Jacob Kem- 
per, who, on his return from the East Indies, 
settled in Holland. * * * 

"Judge Vanderkemp, in 1829, bequeathed 
to Mrs. Quincj' the original manuscripts of 
his correspondence with Mrs. Governor Liv- 
ingston and Mrs. Abigail Adams. The form- 



90 MEMOIRS OF 

er were presented to her friend, Mrs. Theodore 
Sedgwick, a granddaughter of Mrs. Living- 
ton. Those of Mrs. Adams remain in the pos- 
session of the family. 

"Colonel Kemper was aid-de-camp to 
General Washington at the battle of German- 
town. He offered to go with a flag of truce to 
Chew's house, when a young of&cer arrived, 
who was sent, and mortally wounded. His 
brothers were Philip Kemper, who went to 
the West Indies and returned and died in Phil- 
adelphia; Jacob, who was a captain in the 
American Army, and John, who entered the 
naval service of the Colonies, underwent great 
sufferings in the cause, and died in 1844<, at 
Hudson, N. Y., leaving several children. 

"Mrs. Jackson, (Susan Kemper), born in 
New Brunswick, N. J., in 1748, survived all 
her children, except Mrs. Davis, of Boston, 
and Mrs. Bernard Henry and Dr. Jackson, of 
Philadelphia. She passed the remainder of 
her days under the immediate care of her eld- 
est son. Dr. Jackson, and departed this lile in 
1847, at the age of ninety-eight, the last of 
the family* of Jacob and Maria Regini 
(Ernest) Kemper, who emigrated from Caub, 
in Germany, A. D. 1741. 

"In May, 1805, after the election of Mr. 
Quincy as representative in Congress from the 
county of Suffolk, he leased his mansion in 
Pearl Street to Hon. Christopher Gore, and re- 
moved part of the furniture and his library to 
Quincy. It was not without reluctance that 
Mrs. Quincy relinquished this residence, asso- 
ciated with the interesting events of the first 

•*In 1861, the representatives of the name in the United States are the 
Rev. Jackson Kemper, of the Episcopal Church, Bishop of Wisconsin, and 
his sisters. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 91 

years of her married life, in Boston; and the 
prospect of a separation from a part of her 
family caused great anxiety; but she deter- 
mined, without hesitation, to accompany Mr. 
Quincy to Washington. Their youngest chil- 
dren were left at board with confidential 
friends and domestics, and accompanied by 
the eldest, and attended by two servants, they 
left Boston in November, 1805. They trav- 
eled in their carriage, with imperials on the 
roof, sending most of their luggage by water 
to Georgetown. On the third da\", by a route 
then termed the Middle Road, through Wor- 
cester and Stafford, they reached Hartford; 
where they were immediately visited at the ho- 
tel by Governor Trumbull, his son-in-law, 
Daniel Wadsworth, and many of the leading 
politicians of Connecticut. * * * At New 
Haven the^^ were visited bj^ Mr. and Mrs. 
Chauncey and by President Dwight, who ac- 
companied them to visit the college edifice and 
library. After passing se\"eral daj'^s in New 
York, Princeton and Philadelphia, they 
reached Washington the fourth week after 
leaving Boston. At this period there were no 
bridges, and the ferries were often danger- 
ous. * * * 

"To avoid hotel life, Mr. and Mrs. Quincy 
obtained lodgings in the familj^ of Judge 
Cranch, who resided on Pennsylvania Ave- 
nue. * * * The height of partj^ politics did 
not prevent Mrs. Quincy from renewing a 
former friendship with Miss Bayard, of New 
York, as Mrs. S. H. Smith, the wife of the 
editor of the 'National Intelligencer,' then the 
chief organ of the Administration, and with 
Mrs. Madison she sustained most friendly re- 



92 MEMOIRS OF 

lations. Intelligence and animation, intuitive 
perception of character and readiness and 
tact in conversation, made her a general fav- 
orite; and she highly enjoyed the variety and 
brilliancj^ of the parties given by the perma- 
nent and official residents then in Washington. 

"Her costume united simplicitj^ with ele- 
gance. Her carriage dress that winter, vcas a 
short pelisse of black velvet edged round the 
skirt with deep lace, and trimmed with silk 
cord and jet buttons, and a hat of purple vel- 
vet with flowers. A French dress and train of 
rich white silk embroidered in gold, with a 
corresponding head dress ornamented with a 
single white ostrich feather, was said to be the 
most elegant which appeared at a ball given 
by the British Minister. 

"During the winter Mrs. QuincA^ formed 
an intimate and permanent friendship with 
Mrs. Martha Peter, of Tudor Place, George- 
town, — a granddaughter of Mrs. Washington, 
and a woman of superior strength of charac- 
ter and intellect." 

Letter from Mrs. Peter to Mrs. Quincy. 

"Tudor Place, Georgetown, D. C. 

"July 13, 1813. 
^^My Dear Mrs. Quincy: 

"Accept my thanks for the very eloquent 
oration of Mr. Quincy before the Washington 
Benevolent Society. Tell him I have received 
the thanks of that society for the gorget of 
Washington which I presented to them, and 
shall ever feel flattered by the approbation of 
so respectable a portion of your community. 
Mr. Quinc3^'s friendship for the giver has 
caused him to represent her in too favorable a 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAU MAN. 93 

light. The remarks of the 'National Intelli- 
gencer,' on these proceedings in Boston, I 
thought too contemptible to excite displeasure, 
and concluded that to have gorged the editor 
was a great triumph. As I hope never to re- 
quire their assistance or favor, their declara- 
tion of having no 'attachments to the relics or 
relations of Washington,' was a compliment. 
At any rate I should be sorrj^ that my conduct 
met their approbation. 

"We are all on the alert here to give the 
British a warm reception. An express arrived 
on Thursday last, sajdng they were in the 
river; and, as the wind was fair we expected 
every moment to see their v\rhite sheets shining 
in the breeze. The drums began to beat, the 
military to parade, and in a moment all was 
bustle and alarm. Before night scarcely a 
man \^^as to be seen in the streets; they were 
all posted at Fort Washburton, opposite to 
Alexandria. The Secretaries of War and of 
the Navy joined in the van, and each new- 
made officer vied with each other who should 
put on the most finery. * * * 

"I am so glad Mr. Peter has no fancy 
for a military life, as I should much regret to 
have him hold a commission under our present 
rulers, or drav\r his sword in so unjust a cause. 

"I beg 3^ou to write to me, whenever your 
time will admit; for be assured, we take sin- 
cere interest in all that concerns you. 

"Tell Mr. Quincy I still flatter myself I 
shall soon see him here as a Senator. * * * 

"Very sincerely yours 
"Martha Peter." 

"On the 15th of March, 1806, Mr. and 
Mrs. Quincy went to Mount Vernon, on an 



94 MEMOIRS OF 

inYitation from Judge and Mrs. Washington, 
accompanied by their daughter and Judge 
Cranch. Crossing the Potomac b3^ the ferry 
at Georgetown, after a fatiguing day's jour- 
ney in their carriage, they reached their desti- 
nation at sunset, and were most hospitably 
received. A niece and two nephews, and their 
private tutor, then constituted the family of 
Judge and Mrs. Washington. The evening 
was passed in a small drawing-room between 
the hall and an unfurnished apartment called 
the 'banqueting room.' 

*'A cheerful fire blazed on the hearth; and 
beneath the windows, which looked towards 
the Potomac, stood a grand piano, on which 
Mrs. Washington played several difficult duets, 
accompanied by the instructor of her nephews. 

'^'The apartment assigned to Mrs. Quincy 
^was the one in which Washington had died. 
Early in the evening when her child was sent 
there to sleep on a couch for the night, an old 
negress, formerl3^ a slave in the familj^, insist- 
ed on smoking her pipe in the chimney corner 
under pretense of taking care of the young 
stranger, who regarded her with great alarm. 

"Her picturesque figure illuminated by the 
flickering blaze of the fire, seemed to Mrs. 
Quincy like a personification of the dark shad- 
ow which slavery yet cast on the hearthstone 
at Mount Vernon. 

"Highly excited by the associations of the 
place, the imagination of Mr, Quinc}', even 
after he sunk to slumber, faithfully depicted the 
apartment. He thought he heard a heavy 
step in the hall, and was told the Spirit of 
Washington always visited the guests who 
slept in that chamber, and was then at his 
door. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 95 

''Extreme agitation caused him to awake; 
but the scene was so vivid it remained, and it 
was difficult for him to believe it was a dream 
* * * Mr. Quincy arose, and looked from 
the window. The Potomac glittered in the 
moonlight, and the tomb of Washington was 
distinctly visible. 

"The next morning, Judge Washington 
accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Quincy to visit the 
garden and greenhouse and then took a path 
which led towards the river. Pausing before 
a simple wooden door in the bank of the Poto- 
mac, he gave the key to Judge Cranch, and 
walked away, — endeavoring to persuade his 
youngest visitor to accompan\'- him, but, with 
the petulance of childhood, she broke from his 
grasp, and forcing her way between her father 
and Judge Cranch, sprang through the door- 
way, and was surprised and solemnized to 
find herself surrounded by the repositories of 
the dead, and close beside the coffin of Wash- 
ington. It was apparently of oak, raised 
slightly above the others, Vv^ith that of Mrs. 
Washington beside it. Mrs. Quincy was deep- 
ly touched by the scene, and struck by the ex- 
C|uisite beauty of the situation. The bank de- 
scending precipitately to the Potomac, al- 
lowed every passing vessel to approach be- 
neath the tomb of the departed hero, to pay 
their tribute of respect, — 'And oft suspend the 
dashing oar, to bid his gentle spirit rest.' * * * 

"This visit to Mount Vernon, which end- 
ed the next morning, was alwaj^s a subject of 
interesting retrospection; and an affectionate 
friendship was sustained through life with 
Judge and Mrs. Washington. 

"A protracted session of Congress de- 



96 MEMOIRS OF 

tained them in Washington until the 22d of 
April. On reaching Boston, they reunited 
their famih^ at Quincy, where they passed the 
ensuing months. 

"The chief event of that summer was a 
total eclipse of the sun, a sublime spectacle, 
which few of the inhabitants of this planet are 
permitted to behold, especiall3^ under such pe- 
culiar advantages as were given by the exten- 
sive view of sea and land and the wide horizon 
at Quincy. 

"The sk}^ was without a cloud, the sun 
shone \vith intense brilliancj^ until, at the in- 
stant predicted bj^ astronomers, — bj^ manj 
who had died without the sight, — a darkness 
shadov^^ed the Western horizon toward the 
Blue Hills. As the hours passed, and the sun 
became obscured, star after star appeared. 
The cattle came home; the birds ceased their 
warbling, and retired to their nests; and all 
nature \vas hushed. A dim twilight gleamed 
from the horizon, reflected from those regions 
whence the sun's rays were not excluded. 

"Night closed around, the eclipse became 
total, and for five minutes the sun appeared 
like a dark globe in the firmament. It was a 
solemn moment, a pause in nature deep and 
awful. There was time to realize what the 
world would be without the sun. His first re- 
turning, 'shooting far into the bosom of dim 
night a glimmering dawn,' was exquisitely 
beautiful, and was hailed with joyful acclama- 
tion. None of the subsequent eclipses of this 
century could be compared in sublime effect 
with that which occurred on the 16th of June, 
1806. It was a memor3^ for life. 

"In the autumn of 1806, Mr. and Mrs. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 97 

Quincy made the same arrangements as the 
preceding winter. In 1807 and 1808, Mr. 
Quincy went alone to Washington, having es- 
tablished his family in a house he owned on 
Oliver Street, Fort Hill^ which commanded an 
extensive view of the harbor and environs. 
That vicinitj^ then comprised many eligible sit- 
uations, the residence of Bostonians of emi- 
nence and wealth." * ^ * 

Letter to Mrs. Eliza S. Qnmcj. 

"Washington, June 4, 1809. 

"I dined yesterday" at Mount Vernon; six- 
teen or twenty' members of Congress, all Fed- 
erals, were of the party. Mrs. Washington 
was absent; the Judge extremely pleasant and 
polite. 

"The view from Alount Vernon appears 
more beautiful to me than when we visited it 
in March, 1806. 

"The house is in good repair, the gardens 
well cultivated, and the whole estate in suffi- 
cient order. * * * The place might be im- 
proved; but such attempts might balance the 
pleasure the^^ attained. 

"I conversed with Washington's old ser- 
vant, Billy. He could not speak of his master 
without tears. He said that he was never 
out of his mind for two hours, and that he 
scarcely ever passed a night without dreaming 
of him. 

"On this visit I have no regret but that 
you were not with me. 

"JosiAH Quincy." 
****** 

"In 1820, Mr. and Mis. Quincj^ removed 
from Summer Street; Mr. Philips having re- 



98 MEMOIRS OF 

quested his nephew to accept of the house No. 
1, Hamilton Place, for his residence. In No- 
vember they took possession of this pleasant 
abode, which commanded a fine view o^ the 
malls and common, and invited Mrs. Morton, 
then in her eight^^-second year, to reside v^ath 
them. * * * 

"In the summer of 1824, Mrs. Ouincy 
made a tour to Niagara Falls in her carriage, 
■with her two daughters; visiting Mr. and Mrs. 
Bogert, at Ballston, and Mr. and Mrs. Wads- 
w^orth, at Geneseo. Her eldest son met her at 
Buffalo to attend her to viev^ the grand scen- 
ery around the Falls of Niagara and to Can- 
ada. 

"In August, Mr. Ouincj^ as Mayor of 
Boston, had the privilege of receiving hafaj- 
ette, and passing with him through the as- 
sembled populace. * * * In the evening Lafa- 
ette came to Mr. Quincj^'s residence with his 
suite. His reception b3^ Mrs. Quincy was 
gracefully characteristic. Her words cannot 
now be recalled; but her friend, Ellis Gray 
Loring, after the lapse of thirtj^ ^xars, said he 
accounted it one of the felicities of his life that 
he witnessed this interview, and heard her ele- 
gant and appropriate welcome to Lafayette. 

"One evening at a party, where the con- 
versation turned on the war of the Revolu- 
tion, Mrs. Ouinc3^ said, 'The American cockade 
was black and white, was it not, General?' 
'Yes, Madam,' replied Lafa^'-ette, 'it was black 
at first, but, when the French army came over 
and joined us, we added the white in compli- 
ment to ^kem ' 

"Cn Sunday, August 29, Lafaj^ette, accom- 
panied by his son, G. W. Lafayette, and M. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 99 

Levasseur, visited Mr. and Mrs. Ouincj^ at 
their summer residence. Among their family 
assembled to welcome him were Mrs. Morton, 
eighty-five, and Mrs. Storer, eighty-eight 
years or age. To them the interview was 
verj^ affecting; for his presence recalled the 
scenes and the trials of the war of the Revolu- 
tion. He dined with President Adams; and, 
at his residence, received the inhabitants of the 
vicinity in the afternoon. * * * 

"In 1825, the publication of a memoir of 
Josiah Quincy, Jun., of 1775, b^- his son, and 
the second visit of General Lafayette, were 
sources of great interest to Mrs. Quincy. 

"In June. Boston was again crowded 
with distinguished foreigners and strangers 
from all parts of the United States. Many of 
them were present at a reception Mrs. Quincy 
gave, on the evening of the 16th of June, for 
Lafayette. The morning of the 17th of June 
w^as bright and cloudless. The sound of can- 
non recalled the day of the conflict, when, 
from the precincts of Boston, the inhabitants 
looked forth w4th emotions far different from 
those w^hich, in 1825, animated the multitudes 
thronging the streets of a city established in 
prosperity and peace. In Charlestowm, at the 
base of the northern declivity' of Bunker Hill, a 
platform was erected for the oration, and the 
chief personages, with seats on each side for 
the ladies; those for the survivors of the battle 
of June 17, 1775, for Lafayette and the sold- 
iers of the Revolution, and for the rest of the 
vast audience, rose tier above tier toward 
and upon the summit of the hill. 

"Many passages in the oration of Mr. 
Webster were highly applauded, and the 



100 MEMOIRS OF 

^ivhole scene was impressive. In the evening 
the houses of Mr. Webster and Mr. Thorndike, 
thrown into one for the occasion, were crowd- 
ed with a brilliant assembh^; and the scenes of 
the morning formed the general theme. Mrs. 
Quincj^ in conversation with Mr. Webster, 
thanked him for the tribute he had paid to 
Josiah Quincy, Jun., 1775, in his oration. 
'There is no need of my help in that cause,' 
was the ^epl3^ 'The memoirs Mr. Quincy has 
published will be an enduring monument. It 
is one of the most interesting books I have 
ever lead, and brings me nearer than any 
other to the spirit which caused the American 
Revolution. Josiah Ouincj^, Jr., was a noble 
character. I love him because he loved the 
law. How zealous he was in seeking out the 
celebrated lawj^ers, in copying their reports, 
in studying the laws of the different colonies! 
There are no such men now-a-da^^s. Who 
keeps such journals?' Mrs. Quincy replied: 
'I hope you do Mr. Webster.' 'No, I do not. 
The times are far different. The members of 
Congress do not write such letters now.' Re- 
ferring to the scenes of the morning, he said: *I 
never desire to see again such an awful sight 
as so many thousand human faces all turned 
toward me. It was indeed a sea of faces I be- 
held at that moment.' Dr. Warren informed 
Mrs. Quincy that he had put the memoirs of 
Josiah Quinc3^, Jr., into the corner stone of the 
Bunker Hill monument, among the memorials 
of the Revolution. ^' * * 

"The last evening of Lafayette's visit was 
passed at the Boston Theatre, which was ap- 
propriately- decorated. Ever3' tribute to him 
was received with great applause, and on his 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 101 

last public appearance he was followed ^vith 
the same enthusiasm which greeted his en- 
trance into Boston. * * * 

"On the 1st of October, Mr. J. Q. Adams, 
Judge Davis, Gilbert Stuart, the artist, and 
Mr. J. P. Davis, dined with Mr. Quincy. At 
the dinner table, Mrs. Quincy referred to the 
happy idea of naming the frigate, which was 
to carrj^ Lafayette to France, the Brandy- 
wine. Yet, when I bade Lafa\^ette farewell at 
the President's house at Washington and he 
turned from me to depart, his deep emotion, 
my own, and the excitement of the multitudes 
around us, — all in tears, — presented a scene I 
never saw equalled. The effect Mrs. Siddons 
produced on a crowded audience, at the close 
of a. highly wrought traged3^, approached the 
nearest to it, but this was an event in real 
life. * ^ * 

"After having been elected Mayor of Bos- 
ton five successive \xars, Mr. Quincj^ took 
final leave of that ofhce on the 3rd of Januar\', 
1829; and on the 15th was chosen President 
of Harvard University. The acceptance of a 
station involving such great responsibility 
was at first regarded with hesitation by Mrs. 
Quincy. To relinquish both her favorite 
abodes, especially her home at Quince', and re- 
move her famih", including her mother, Mrs. 
Morton, then ninety A^ears of age, to a new 
residence, appeared an arduous task, but 
when the claims of that ancient seminary, 
in which she had long taken a great interest, 
were urged by her friend, Dr. Bowditch, then a 
leading member of the corporation, she con- 
sented that Mr. Quincy should accept the ap- 
pointment. Once determined, her arrange- 



102 MEMOIES OF 

ments were prompt and judicious. The estate 
at Quincy became the residence of her eldest 
son, and in May, 1829, her family was re- 
moved to the President's house, wnich had 
been repaired and arranged under her direc- 
tion. 

''The inauguration of Mr. Quincy, on the 
2nd of June, was justly characterized as a 
day of enthusiasm. Surrounded bj^ troops of 
friends, and received by the officers and stu- 
dents of the University with every testimony 
of pleasure and welcome, the crowded levee 
and the brilliant illumination of the evening 
closed a day of gratification. * * * 

"Mrs. Craigie (in whose mansion in 1795 
Mrs. Quinc3^ had been received as Miss Mor- 
ton) and Mr. and Mrs. William Wells, long her 
valued friends, were among the first to greet 
her in her new residence. 

"The hospitalities of Cambridge were cor- 
dially reciprocated, and during the first four 
years of Mr. Quincy 's administration, the 
President's house was thrown open one even- 
ing in the week, in the winter season, to the 
officers and students of the college, and to the 
general society of the town and vicinity. Dur- 
ing sixteen years, Mrs. Quincy was only once, 
on any public occasion, prevented by illness 
from receiving her friends. * * * 

"The health of her mother, Mrs. Morton, 
remained unimpaired until September, 1832. 
Having passed twelve j^ears in the family of 
Mr. Quincy, she departed, after a short illness, 
on the 22d of September, 1832; and it was a 
remarkable incident, that in closing, in the 
President's house at Cambridge, a life of 
ninety-three years commenced on the banks of 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 103 

the Rhine, she was attended, not only by her 
daughter and her grandchildren, but also 
by her sister, Mrs. Jackson, (Susan Kemper). 
Preserving her mind and life-long habits of in- 
dustry and order, she read her Bible and Ger- 
man hj^mn book, and though a strict Calvin- 
ist attended the Unitarian church until a fort- 
night previous to her death. 

"In January, 1833, Mrs. Quincy was 
summoned to Dedham by the decease of Mrs. 
Shaw, at the age of seventy-seven, ^who, hj 
the excellenc3^ of her character, commanded 
the respect of all around her; and by her 
affection for her nephew and his family, 
deserved and received every filial attention. 
The portrait of Major Shaw, in her apart- 
ment, recalled to Mrs. Quincy scenes of her 
early life in New York, during his engagement 
to Miss Beauman; and it seemed a singular 
coincidence, that, in that distant time and 
place, she should stand toward his ^dow in 
the relation of an adopted child. * * * 

"Among the visitors at this time were 
Spurzheim, Audubon, Dr. Julius, of Berlin, 
Washington Irving and many other eminent 
men. 

"On the 4th of September, 1833, the two 
hundredth anniversary' of the landing of Bd- 
mund Quincy, of England, was celebrated, on 
the estate he purchased of the Indians, by a 
familv meeting of his descendants. 

"Mrs. S. R. Miller, the mother of Mrs. J. 
Quincj', Jr., who then passed the summer 
months with her daughter at Quincy, took 
great interest in the occasion and contributed 
hj her taste to the decoration of the old man- 
sion, and the reception of a party of guests. 



104 MEMOIRS OF 

"A parchinent prepared for the purpose, 
was signed by Mr. and Mrs. Quincy and Mrs. 
Miller and the rest of the famil_v, as a memor- 
ial of the day, to be transmitted to the future 
representatives of the name. 

"The course of the Revolution in France, 
in which Lafaj^ette was engaged, in 1830, was 
watched by his friends in Cambridge with 
great interest. The captain of an American 
ship, who was in France at the time, and who 
was acquainted with Lafayette said the Gen- 
eral told him that the night the Revolution 
began in Paris, his familj^, knowing he was re- 
garded as its leader, insisted on his leaving his 
own mansion. He went to the house of one of 
his daughters, and before morning the RoA^al 
troops took possession of the lower story; 
Lafaj^ette saw them from the staircase, but 
the3^ were unconscious of his presence and that 
he was thus accidentally their prisoner. 
He kept quiet, and the next morning there 
was a conflict in the street beneath the house. 
The royalists were defeated, and left the prem- 
ises, and he was again at liberty. 

"Lafayette continued to write every j^ear 
to Mr. Ouinc3% until this period, when his en- 
gagements obliged him to employ' a secre- 
tary^; but he always signed his letters and sent 
a message to Mrs. Quinc\^ with his own hand. 

"Her daughter, Mrs^. B. D. Greene (Mar- 
garet M. Quincy), with Mr. Greene, visited 
LaGrange in 1833, and were received with 
great affection bj^ Lafa3'ette, who spoke with 
enthusiasm of his visit to America, remember- 
ing the most trivial circumstances. 

"On the 29th of March, 1831, Lafayette 
cut from a Paris newspaper his last communi- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAU MAN. 105 

cation to the Chamber of Deputies, and en- 
closed it to Mrs. Ouincy. It was received by 
his friend on the 21st of May, 1834 — the daj^ 
on which his eventful life terminated." 

To Thomas Jefferson, Ex-President of 
the United States, Monticello. 

''QuiNCY, Jan. 14, 1826. 
''My Dear Sir: 

"Permit me to introduce to your acquain- 
tance a young law3'er by the name of Josiah 
Quincy, with the title of Colonel; being aid to 
our Governor. The name of Colonel Ouincy, 
I believe, has never been extinct for nearly two 
hundred years. 

"He is a son of our excellent Mayor of the 
cit}^ of Boston, and possesses a character un- 
stained and irreproachable. I applaud his am- 
bition to visit Monticello and its great inhabi- 
tant; and while I have my hand in, I can- 
not cease without giving you some account of 
the state of m^^ mind. I am certainh^ very 
near the end of my life. I am ver3^ far from 
trifling with the idea of death, which is a great 
and solemn event; but I contemplate it with- 
out terror or dismay, aut transit, ant Jinit, 
which I cannot believe and I do not believe 
there is then an end of all; but I shall never 
know it, and wh^^ should I dread it? — which I 
do not. If transit, I shall ever be under the 
same constitution and administration of gov- 
ernment in the universe, and I am not afraid 
to trust and confide in it. 

"I am ever your friend, 

"John Adams." 

"In the winter and spring of 1826, Mr. 



106 MEMOIRS OF 

and Mrs. Quinc^^ frequently visited Mr. 
Adams, — and in June before they returned to 
their summer residence, he often drove down 
the avenue to ascertain if they had not ar- 
rived. On Friday, the 30th of June, Mrs. 
Quincy visited Mr. Adams, with her mother, 
Mrs. Morton, and two of her daughters. He 
conversed about the railroad (the first in 
America) then constructing to carry the gran- 
ite for the Bunker Hill monument from Quincy 
to the Neponset; said he wished he could see it 
finished; and added, ^What wonderful im- 
provements those will see in this country, v^ho 
live fifty years hence! but I am thankful I 
have seen those which have taken place during 
the last fifty years.' He then spoke of the ap- 
proaching celebration of the 4th of July, and of 
the oration Mr. Quincy was to deliver in 
the Old South Church, on the fifteenth anni- 
versary of that day; and said he wished he 
had strength to go and hear him, and took an 
affectionate leave of his friends. After they 
had left the room, he expressed his intention 
to return their visit the next day. 

"Accordingly, before eight o'clock on the 
morning of Saturday, the 1st of July, in oppo- 
sition to the entreaties of his famil}-, he was 
lifted into his carriage by his absolute com- 
mand, and attended by one of his grandsons, 
once more reached the door of Mr. Ouincy's 
mansion, conversed with his friends as they 
stood around his carriage, and again said 'Fare- 
well.' The effort was too great for his failing 
strength. After his return he rapidly declined. 
Mrs. Quincy was not aw^are of the change, as 
on Monday, the 3rd of July, she went to Bos- 
ton to be present at the celebration of the 
Fourth. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 107 

"When addressing the multitude as- 
sembled in the Old South Church, on the 4th 
of July, 1826, the tribute paid bj^ Mr. Quincy to 
'the Patriarch of American Independence, of 
all New England's worthies the sole survivor,' 
was highly applauded. The sounds of a Na- 
tion's joy were heard by that ancient citizen 
of Boston; and when the shades of his evening 
sky reflected the splendors of his meridian 
brightness, he joined the great company of the 
departed. 

"The death of John Adams on this anni- 
versary seemed an event too remarkable to oc- 
cur; and the intelligence was at first received 
with incredulity. On the 5th of July, the 
event was announced by minute guns from 
the Common, the tolling of bells, and the flag 
of the United States e.t half-mast. The one on 
the flagstaff on the site of the Libert}^ Tree, in 
Washington Street, was especialh" observed 
by Mrs. Quincy and her children, as they left 
Boston amid these tokens of respect. The 
sorrow for the removal of a friend so long 
their affectionate associate, was mingled with 
admiration and gratitude for so appropriate 
a termination of his career. 

"On the 7th of Juh^, a numerous assembly 
attended the obsequies of John Adam.s in his 
native village, 'where his latter da^'S went 
down the vale of 3^ears.' 

The excitement of the public, occasioned 
by the death of John Adams, was renewed and 
deepened on the ninth of Juh", when intelligence 
arrived that Thomas Jefferson had also died 
on the fiftieth anniversary^ of the Fourth, at 
half- past t\velve o'clock, while the Declaration 
of Independence was being read at Charlottes- 
ville, near Monticello. 



108 MEMOIRS OF 

''The Declaration of Independence was 
adopted by Congress on the 4th of Julj^, 1776, 
between the hours of twelve and one o'clock, 
and i^ublicly proclaimed at five in the after- 
noon. Thus Mr. Jefferson died fifty j^ears 
after its adoption; Mr. John Adams fifty years 
after its promulgation. 

"John Quincy Adams soon arrived from 
Washington, and passed Sunday evening, the 
17th of July, at Mrs. Quincy's house. The 
feelings which the recent event had excited at 
first made his friends hesitate to dwell on the 
subject; but he afterwards spoke of his father 
as he would have done of any historical char- 
acter to whom he held no immediate relation. 

"While sustaining the bonds of early af- 
fection, Mrs. Quincy was ever ready to extend 
the range of her friendship. Having formed 
an accjuaintance with Mrs. Ballestier,* who 
was soon to embark for Singapore (Mr. Bal- 
lestier having been appointed United States 
consul at that place) Mrs. Quincy recom- 
mended to her notice a 'Memoir of Sir Stam- 
ford RafHes,' which she had then recentlj^ read. 
This incident caused a correspondence, from 
which the following extracts are given: 

To Mrs. QuincA', Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts. 

"Singapore, April 13, 1837. 
^''My Dear Madam: — Your just apprecia- 
tion of the character and the efforts of Sir 
Stamford Raffles, in founding the English col- 
onj' here, induces me to ask A'our acceptance 
of some nutmegs from the garden laid out by 

*A daughter of Paul Reveie, whose name is of historical interest. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 109 

his direction, and some specimens of the 
pitcher-plant, or, as the natives call it 'the 
monkey cup.' The flowers grow, as jon will 
observe, suspended at the end of the leaves, 
and when brought to me were half full of 
v/ater and insects. The small specimens were 
a beautiful green. I have filled them with the 
Siam cotton, also a curiosity, as it grows on a 
loft\^ tree, in large green pods. 

"I also send one of the marine produc- 
tions of ^.he waters of Singapore, fancifully 
called Neptune's cup. Beautiful varieties of 
coral are also found here, but are not so rare 
as these natural vases, some of which will hold 
several gallons. They seem to be of the nature 
of sponge, but are much harder, and will 
stand the sun and rains of a tropical climate 
for months. I have several of them on the 
portico and in the border of my garden, in 
which I place my plants." 

''Singapore, Oct. 29, 1838. 

"Your ver\^ interesting letter of December 
last reached me in safetA^i after its long voy- 
age, and it gave me great pleasure to hear 
that the dried plants were in good preserva- 
tion. 

"I now ask jonr acceptance of some cos- 
tumes from Aiadras, which, although rudely 
drawn, are faithful; and also two paintings of 
fruits peculiar to the Straits of Malacca, — the 
Mangostin and the Dusian. They will have 
an interest for you, as executed bj^ an old 
draughtsman of Sir Stamford Raffles, now a 
cripple; but though confined to his couch, he 
supports himself b^^ painting the fruits and 
flowers of the Straits. * * * The handker- 



110 MEMOIRS OF 

chief they are wrapped in is of native manufac- 
ture, and comes from Collanton, up the coast, 
eight miles from Singapore. * * * 

"I ask your son-in-law, Mr. Greene's, ac- 
ceptance, as President of the Natural History 
Society, of some birds from the coast of Coro- 
mandel, nine in number. They were prepared 
and given to me by a French naturalist, and 
were duplicates. 

"Allow me to thank you for 'Van Arte- 
velde,' and for the 'Life of Washington,' by 
Mr. Sparks, a great pleasure to us, and a 
source of pride in showing it to the Europeans 
here, who know little of the United States, ex- 
cept what they are told hj prejudiced travel- 
ers. By this opportunity^ I also send jou a 
Siamese manuscript, and some of the books 
printed in Siam, for the use of the natives, by 
the American mission, and also some from 
China. * * * 

"October IS, 1841. 

"Your letter and the beautiful volumes of 
the 'History of Harvard University,' — a most 
valuable work, gratifjnng us in man^^ ways, — 
arrived after a short voyage. I lately sent 
you another manuscript, bj-- Hon. Mark Kerr, 
a young Englishman, the grandson of the 
Marquis of Lothian, and introduced to us by 
Mr. James Brooke, who is here, in his own 
yacht, for scientific purposes, and to whom 
Mr. Ballestier gave a letter to President 
Quincy. 

"I now offer a'ou an illustrated Siamese 
manuscript, entitled 'A Treatise on Fortune- 
telling,' — a missionar^^ friend had it executed 
for me, and also a specimen of the Venus 
supper, an orchidaceous plant from the Prince- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. Ill 

of-Wales Island. It reminds me of a similar 

plant I saw, when very young, at Canton, 

Massachusetts, called bj^ the country- people 

the 'Whippoorwill Shoe.' The beautiful color 

of the leaves is almost destroyed by the drying. 

"With ever}^ kind wish for j^our happiness, 

"Very sincerely 3' ours 

"Maria Revere Ballestier." 

"Soon after the date of this letter, Mrs. 
Ballestier died at Singapore. An extract from 
a tribute to her memorj', in an English jour- 
nal, is here inserted: — 

"Occupying a prominent position in soci- 
etj, Mrs. Ballestier endeared herself to all by 
every social virtue, proving that they are not 
only compatible with, but heightened in their 
value b\^ being accompanied hj the amenities 
of life. To obtain her good offices, it was only 
requisite to need them. 

"A quiet dignity of demeanor, that has 
passed, we fear, with the old school, gave a 
pleasing grace to her manners. Her heart was 
young withal. How often have we seen it go 
with the little children at their -playl Her 
sympathetic nature was truly catholic, em- 
bracing in the fullest sense the whole human 
family." 

"In July, 1839, Mrs. Dowse, the widow 
of Edward Dowse, and the last survivor of 
the sisters of Mrs. Abigail Quinc^^, died at the 
age of eighty-two years. 

"After the loss of her sister, Mrs. Shaw, 
Anna W. Storer became, through the arrange- 
ment by Mrs. Quincj', an intimate in her fami- 
ly. Her companionship and affectionate at- 
tention contributed to the happiness ol the 



112 MEMOIRS OF 

last six years of the life of Mrs. Dowse, at 
whose residence the letter was written from 
which an extract is here inserted." 

To Hon. Josiah Quincy. 

"Dedham, October 1839. 
* * * "I looked with deep interest at your 
father's monument during my last visit to 
Quincy, for the first erection of which I was 
solicitous nearly forty years ago; and I am 
now^ gratified by its repair and renovation. It 
does not often fall to the lot of a son twice to 
build the monument of his parents; but if such 
a tribute was deserved, that claim is surely 
theirs. And well has it been answered 'by 
their only surviving child,' not onl}^ by monu- 
mental marble, but by a life worth^^ of their 
name and example. It must now remain w^ith 
those who are to come after us to continue to 
preserve the memory and the memorial of 
those we have honored and loved. But, 
whether they do so or not, the past is secure, 
and you may willingly leave to the future the 
record of j^our own claims, public and pri- 
vate, to the grateful remembrance of your 
friends and your children. 

"I have just returned from visiting the 
cemetery here, and the monument you have 
erected to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Dowse 
and Mrs. Shaw. I return to their mansion 
with a heart lull of affectionate remembrance 
of all their love and kindness to us and our 
children. In the disposition of their late 
abode as the residence of our j^oungest son,* 
they would have been gratified, and I hope our 

*Edinund Quincy whose residence it remains in 1877. The portrait of 
Mrs. Shaw haugg in one ol the apartments. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 113 

children's children will be taught to whom 
they owe this goodlj^ heritage, and honor 
their memory as they deserve. 

"Eliza S. Quincy." 

'^During the last years of her residence in 
Cambridge the establishment of the Observa- 
tory had been an object of interest to Mrs. 
Quincy. On the Sth of May, 1848, a transit 
of Mercury was observed in New Bngland for 
the first time in sixty years. 

"Mr. John Quincy Adams came to Cam- 
bridge to view it, and in the afternoon Mrs. 
Quincy had the pleasure of seeing the planet 
on the disc of the sun, through the telescope, 
and of watching the observation of Mr. Bond. 

"When Mr. Quincy attained the age of 
seventy years, he purchased a house in Boston 
for the future residence of his family, and in 
March, 1848, resigned the Presidency of Har- 
vard University. The announcement of his 
intentions to leave the official station he had 
long filled, and to remove with his family 
from Cambridge, was received with a strong 
and general expression of regret, especially 
from all those immediately connected with the 
University. But he never wavered in his de- 
cision to retire w^hile his health w^as un- 
impaired and when he could leave the institu- 
tion in perfect order, prosperous, improved 
and enlarged in all its branches during his ad- 
ministration. Although to Mrs. Quincy and 
her family, a removal from Cambridge, where 
they had acquired new friends, passed many 
happy years, and formed many pleasing asso- 
ciations, was attended with regret, they coin- 
cided in the opinion that it was the golden 
moment for the change to be made. 



114 MEMOIRS OF 

"Among the many parting testimonies of 
respect paid to Mr. Ouincy, the request of the 
four classes of undergraduates for his bust hj 
Crawford, to be placed in Gore Hall, was the 
most gratifjang. A consequent acquaintance 
with that accomplished artist, who modeled 
his work in an apartment in the President's 
house, was a great pleasure to Mrs. Quincy. 
The closing tributes on Commencement Day, 
in August, 1845, and the crowded levee of the 
evening, equalled in interest and animation 
those of the second of June 1829. 

"In September, Mr. and Mrs. Quincy took 
possession of the commodious house they 
had selected in Bowdoin Place, and were re- 
ceived b3^ their friends in Boston with every 
attention on their return, and during the suc- 
ceeding years they were constantly visited by 
those whom they had left in Cambridge. * * * 

"The sixth of June, 1847, the fiftieth an- 
niversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
Quincy, w^as celebrated with appropriate test- 
imonies of affection from their familj^ w^ho met 
at the mansion in Bowdoin Place, in the even- 
ing. 

"For several years after their return to 
their former places of residence, Mrs. Quincy 
retained her power of participating in all the 
occurrences vi^hich interested those around 
her. The last public occasion at which she 
was present was on the twent^'-fifth of Octo- 
ber, 1848, when her eldest son, Josiah Quinc^^, 
Jr., as Maj^or of Boston, presided over the 
completion of the Cochituate Aqueduct. It 
w^as the great festival of the whole people at 
this period. 

"The order which prevailed aiuong the 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 115 

multitudes who thronged the streets of the 
city, and the moment, when at the command 
of the Mayor, the water of the distant lake 
gushed up in a splendid fountain on the Com- 
mon, is remembered with pleasure by the 
many thousands of the citizens w^ho witnessed 
the scene and enjo\'ed the celebration. 

"The health of Mrs. Ouincy remained un- 
impaired until the last year of her life, and the 
fe^v months of her decline were passed at 
Quinc3', amid the devoted attentions of her 
famih' and the tributes of long tried friend- 
ship. Her memory and intellectual powers 
remained perfect, and the resources of litera- 
ture, ever her peculiar delight, employed her 
leisure hours. 

"Her Christian faith was firm, and sus- 
tained by 'an unfaltering trust,' she closed her 
long and happy life of seventy-seven years, at 
Ouincy, on Sunday morning the first of Sep- 
tember, 1850, in tranquillity and peace, with 
gratitude for the past and with confidence 
and hope for the future. 

"Margaret Morton, bom in New York, 
in 1772, the only sister of Mrs. Quincy, resid- 
■ed in her family from 1800 to 1809, when she 
returned to New York. 

"A woman of great strength of character, 
she was fond of reading, accomplished, le- 
markable for industry'-, and her skill in em- 
broidery. Her early associates were among 
the most fashionable women of the day. Mrs. 
Henderson, ot New York, to whose daughter, 
May, afterwards Mrs. Theodore L3'man, of 
Boston, she stood as god-mother, was her in- 
timate friend. 

"In 1815, Miss Morton married David 



116 MEMOIRS OF 

Ritzeman Bogert, Esqr., of Beckman, Dutchess 
County, N. Y., who in early life resided on 
Broadwaj^ near Mrs. Morton's family, and 
had been at that time attached to her daugh- 
ter. After an absence of twenty years, conse- 
quent on his remoyal to Beckman, he returned 
to New York after the decease of his parents, 
and renewed his friendship with Miss Morton. 
Thc}^ were married in 1815 and resided at 
Beckman until 1823, w^hen thej^ removed to 
Malta, near Ballston, N. Y. 

"In both places of their residence the\^ 
were greath' esteemed bj^ all their friends and 
associates. 

* * * "Mr. Bogert was 'descended from a 
Dutch family, and on his decease, at the age of 
eighty years, he bequeathed the portrait of his 
maternal ancestor, the Rev. David Ritzeman, 
of Albanj^, to the Historical Societ}- of that 
city. A ntunber of valuable books m the 
Dutch language he gave to President Quincy, 
who presented them in his name to the Library 
of Harvard University, and they were deposit- 
ed in Gore Hall. 

"His farm and property he bequeathed to 
his wife, who passed the last years of her life in 
the family of his nephew, Charles F.Morton, 
Esqr., at his residence in the house at New 
Windsor, known as the headquarters of Gen- 
eral Knox during the war of the Revolution. 
Retaining her mental powers, her correspond- 
ence with her relatives and friends was re- 
markable for the steadiness and clearness ol 
her handwriting, for piquant expressions of 
opinions, and for anecdote. 

"By her niece, Mrs. Charles F. Morton, 
Mrs. Bogert was affectionately attended, and 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 117 

died after a short illness, in August 1859, 
aged eighty-seven. 

"Clark Morton, the j^oungest brother of 
Mrs. Quincy, entered into business as a mer- 
chant, and died early in life. Washington 
Morton was a man of uncommon ability and 
talent, and was also distinguished for his fig- 
ure and personal appearance, being above six 
feet in height. His wife, Cornelia Schuyler, 
a sister of Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, was one 
of the most beautiful women of her da}"; she 
was amiable and intelligent, and her death in 
1807, was a great calamity to her familj'. 

"Her husband survived her but a short 
time, and died in France. Washington Mor- 
ton named his youngest daughter, Mary Re- 
gina, after his grandmother, Mrs. Kemper. 
As the widow of William Starr Miller, of New 
York, she purchased an estate, which her an- 
cestors in the Schu3'ler family inherited from 
Mr. Beckman, the first proprietor of Rhine- 
beck, where she has erected a L3'ceum, and is 
meritoriously emplojang her fortune for the 
benefit of the inhabitants. 

"It is a singular coincidence, that by the 
mere contingencies of life, without a knowl- 
edge of the fact, such a design should in 1861, 
be carried into effect by the descendants and 
namesake of Mrs. Kemper, at the place where 
her brother, Mr. Ernest, was first established 
and where she passed her first winter in Amer- 
ica, in 1741." 

Letter from Mrs. Anna C. L. Q. Water- 
ston to Miss Quincy, Qtiincy, Massachusetts. 



118 memoirs of 

"Caub-on-the-Rhine- 

'July 7, 1857. 
'^'- My Dear Susan: 

"The above date will call up many asso 
ciations to your mind, and manj^ many arise 
in mine, as I find myself writing to you from 
this old Rhine town, with which our existence 
is so strongly interwoven. Here are the river, 
the hills; the old Castle of Gutenfels frowns 
above us, and the Pfalz stands upon the rock 
in the channel, just as they did w^hen the Kem- 
per family left Rhineland for what was an al- 
most undiscovered countr^^ 

"Helen and I must be among the first di- 
rect descendants w^ho return to the old place. 
The great, and great-great grandchild of those 
who Avent to the new world so long ago. Af- 
ter spending the da^^ at Oberwessel, with its 
old tower, and the church which contains the 
tombs of the Schomberg family, we took one 
of the sail boats down the river, and were 
steered towards Caub, which lay in the dis- 
tance. 

"As our little boat floated up the Rhine 
just before sunset, I thought I could truly im- 
agine that 'Spirits twain had crossed with 
me.' 

"The town is very picturesque and very 
old. Yet it is not dismal or ruined. It looks in 
good order, and as if the people were thriving. 
The mountains are covered with vineyards, 
and the kitchen gardens lie on the river bank, 
and seem to have no dividing line. 

"The little inn, or Gausthaus, in which 
Mr. Waterston, Helen, and m3^self now are, is 
neatness itself, and if grandma revisits her 
birthplace to-night to take a spiritual look at 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 119 

lier descendants, even she would be satisfied 
with the perfect cleanHness of onr surround- 
ings. 

"How often have I heard her speak of the 
castle in the river, and mama repeat the 
name. 

"While I looked at the view of Caub you 
copied as the frontispiece to her memoirs, and 
saw in Margaret's handwriting the account of 
the Kempers leaving the Rhine, in that inter- 
esting story, it is difficult to believe we are ac- 
tually here, that I have come to that place so 
familiar by long association. 

"How strangeh^ are all our destinies 
linked in with those of other daj'S — long, long 
passed away." 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF REV. 
GEO. J. L. DOLL. 



On the 16th of November, 1782, Kingston 
was honored b\'- a visit from General Wash- 
ington, on his way, hj a circuitous route, 
from New Jersey to West Point. After pass- 
ing the night of the 15th with his companion- 
at-arms. Colonel Cornelius Wynkoop, at his 
homestead at Stone Ridge, he proceeded on 
his way to Kingston. 

The following is an address delivered by 
the Rev. Dr. George J. L. Doll (in behalf of the 
Consistorj' of the First Dutch Reformed 
Church of Kingston) to General Washington 
on that occasion: 

"Sir — Amidst the general joj^ which in- 
stantly pervaded all ranks of people here on 
hearins^ of vour Excellencv's arrival to this 
place 

"We, the Minister, Elders and Deacons of 
the Protestant Reformed Dutch Church in 
Kingston participated in it, and now beg 
leave with the greatest respect and esteem to 
hail your arrival. 

"The experience of a number of years past 
has convinced us, that jonr wisdom, integrity 
and fortitude have been adequate to the ardu- 
ous task your countr}^ has imposed upon 3^ou; 

120 




DR. WILLIAM HENRY DOLL. 



COi^uNii;L Sj^BASTIAN BEAUMAN. 121 

never have we in the most perilous of times 
known your Excellency to despond, nor in the 
most prosperous to slacken in activity, but 
with the utmost resolution persevere until by 
the aid of the Almighty you have brought us 
this year to Independence and Freedom and 
Peace. 

"Permit us to add that the loss of our re- 
ligious rights was partly involved in that of 
our civil, and your being instrumental in re- 
storing the one, affords us a happy presage 
that the Divine Being will prosper your en- 
deavors to promote the other. 

"When the sword shall be sheathed and 
Peace re-established, and whenever it is the 
Will of Heaven that your Bxcellenc}' has lived 
long enough for the purposes of nature, then 
may you enter triumphantly thro' the Blood 
of the Lamb into the regions of bliss, there to 
take possession of that Crown of Glory, the 
reward of the virtuous and which fadeth not 
away." 

To which address his Excellenc3'^ replied 
as follows: 

"Gentlemen — I am happ^' in receiving 
this public mark of the esteem of the Minister, 
Elders and Deacons of the Reformed Protest- 
ant Dutch Church in Kingston. 

"Convinced that our religious liberties 
Avere as essential as our civil, my endeavors 
have never been wanting to encourage and 
promote the one, while I have been contending 
for the other, and I am highly flattered by 
finding that my efforts have met the approba- 
tion of so respectable a bod\'. 

"In return for \^ our kind concern for m}^ 



122 MEMOIKS OF 

temporal and eternal happiness permit me to 
assure j^ou that my wishes are reciprocal; and 
that 3^011 may be enabled to hand down your 
religion pure and undefiled to a posterity'- 
worthy of their ancestors is the prayer of 

"Gentlemen, 
"Your most obedient servant 
"Geo. Washington." 

"The arrival of the general and his suite 
was greeted with great rejoicings on the part 
of the citizens. He put up at the public house 
of Evert Bogardus, but accompanied by his 
staff he dined with Judge Dick Wynkoop, in 
Green Street. In the evening there was a 
gathering of ladies in the Bogardus ball-room, 
which was honored for a short time by the at- 
tendance of the general, when the ladies were 
severally introduced to him. The next morn- 
ing at an early hour he left the village and 
continued his journey." 

(Schoonmaker's History of Kingston.) 

The following is an address to the Hon- 
orable the Regents of the University of N. Y. 

"His Excellency George Clinton, Chan- 
cellor, and the Honorable the Regents of the 
University of the State of New York. 

"Most Respected Sirs: — The Trustees 
of Kingston Academy, in the County of Ulster, 
take the liberty of addressing your honorable 
body upon the present flourishing situation 
of the Seminary committed to their particular 
care, and trust that an anxious solicitude for 
its further prosperity will apologize for any 
impropriety in this communication. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 123 

"Since the first establishment of this 
Academj' by the Trustees of the Corporation 
of Kingston in the year 1774, thej^ have been 
very fortunate in providing able teachers 
therein, and without any other fund than the 
bare tuition money; have had a number of pu- 
pils committed to their care, from among 
whom can now be selected characters, who 
have since been preferred by their fellov^ citi- 
zens to the important offices of a Lieutenant- 
Governor and President of the Senate, a 
Speaker of the Assembh^ a Justice of the Su- 
preme Court, a Mayor of one populous city, 
and both Ma3^or and Recorder of another. 
Several members of the National and State 
Legislatures, besides a number of characters 
eminent in their several professions of Divinity, 
Law and Physic. 

"From this pleasing review of the past, 
the Trustees hope not to be thought vain or 
assuming in considering Kingston Academy 
equal in usefulness to any other of like estab- 
lishments within this State; and as such, mer- 
iting the fostering care and attention of the 
Honorable Regencj^ as its common parent. 

"Since our Deed of Incorporation of the 
third day of Februarj^ 1795, there having 
been but one visitation to the Academ^^^ the 
Trustees beg leave to mention, that having re- 
ceived two hundred dollars from the Public 
Treasurj^ the same, together with a further 
sum of about sixty dollars, collected bj^ volun- 
tary contribution, has been carefully expended 
in the purchase of a neat set of Globes and 
Maps, with some Mathematical Apparatus 
and about one hundred and thirty-two vol- 
umes of choice books for the Academy Library. 



124 MEMOIRS OF 

The same are placed under the immediate con- 
trol of the present Principal Tutor, the Rev. 
Mr. David B. Warden, a gentleman originally 
from the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, 
but last from Kinderhook, where he stood as 
a teacher till called to this Academy about 
seventeen months since. He with only one 
usher to assist him, has now the charge of 
fiftj^-three students — a number exceeding any 
heretofore known at one and the same time, 
and for \vhom the Trustees are desirous of 
providing another usher, but find the means 
inadequate. The students arranged in classes 
are taught the Latin and Greek languages, 
Elementary and Practical Geometry, Mathe- 
matics, Logic, Moral and Natural Philosophy, 
Ancient Historj^ Geography, the Historj^ and 
Government of the United States, and 
the French language. Two of the present 
students are from two neighboring States, viz: 
one from Marjdand, and the other from Penn- 
sylvania. Twenty others are from six neigh- 
boring counties, viz: one from New York, one 
from Westchester, seven from Dutchess, five 
from Columbia, one from Albany', and five 
from Greene, and the remaining thirty-one be- 
long to this County; thus this nursery for sci- 
ence will, with the blessing of a kind Provi- 
dence, spread her fruits far and wide. 

"In order to render the Academy more ex- 
tensivel3^ useful, the Trustees have for several 
years past assigned a large convenient room 
on the first floor for the use of an English 
School, which generally consists of twenty-five 
to thirty scholars, who are taught reading, 
writing, and arithmetic. 

''The Trustees beg leave to add, that none 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. ]25 

of the English scholars have been enumerated 
with the Latin students reported to the Hon- 
orable Regents, and which they have under- 
stood to have been the case from some neigh- 
boring Seminaries, in order thej^ presume, 
thereby to receive a larger share of the bounty 
of the State. Be that as it may, the Trustees 
of Kingston Academy have with pleasure ob- 
served the means adopted by the Honorable 
Legislature for the encouragement of Litera- 
ture, and rest satisfied that their own exer- 
tions in this laudable undertaking, will not 
fail to meet with every assistance in the power 
of a generous Regency to afford them. In 
testimony whereof, we have caused our com- 
mon seal to be thereunto affixed. Witness, 
the Rev. George J. L. Doll, our President of 
our Academy, this 3rd day of January, 1803. 

"George J. L. Doll, President. 
"Attested. Aben B. Bancker, Secretary." 

"From an entry in the minutes of a meet- 
ing held b\^ the board on the 30th day of Sep- 
tember, 1803, it appears that upon the pre- 
ceding application, the regents donated to the 
Academy the sum of one hundred pounds, 
which was received into the treasury, and ap- 
propriated to the discharge of a balance due 
Mr. Smith, their former principal, to the pur- 
chase of a new bell, for the Academy, and the 
residue paid to Mr. Warden, on account of his 
salary. The bell purchased at that time is 
probably the same bell which was in the pres- 
ent academy until recently. 

"On the 31st of January 1804, the Trus- 
tees of Kingston Academy prepared two mem- 
orials to the Regents of the Universit}^ and 



126 MEMOIRS OF 

the Legislature of the State, soliciting the 
vsanction of the former in founding a College 
within the town of Kingston; and aiso the aid 
of the latter towards building and endowing 
the said College. 

"The establishment of a college being de- 
nied them, the then Trustees of the Corpora- 
tion of Kingston, conveyed the whole of the 
real property which had been designed for a 
college fund to the trustees of Kingston Acad- 
emj^ as a fund for that institution. This deed 
is dated March 15th, 1804, and conveyed over 
eight hundred acres of land, including the tri- 
angular lot in the village of Kingston upon 
which the present academy building is situ- 
ated." 

\ (Schoonmaker'8 History of Kingston.) 

^TCH OF REV. DR. G. J. L. DOLL, THE LAST 
PASTOR TO PREACH IN DUTCH IN THE FIRST 
REF. DUTCH CHURCH OF KINGSTON, UL- 
STER COUNTY, N. Y. 

"The Dolls were Hollanders. The Rev. 
Dr. George J. L. Doll, a prominent citizen of 
Kingston, N. Y., when that old town was 
conspicuous in the work of making history, 
came from Holland long before our Revolu- 
tion. He was a ver\^ learned man, and an en- 
thusiastic patriot. Portions of his corres- 
pondence with Governor George Clinton, and 
General Washington are preserved. 

"At the Centennial celebration of the 
State of New York, held at Kingston, July, 
1877, the Mayor introduced the Rev. Dr. J. C. 
F. Hoes, who read a letter of congratulation 
from the Rev. Dr. Doll, directlv bearins:^ on the 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 127 

event commemorated, prefacing the same with 
appropriate remarks, as follows: 

"IvADiEs AND Gentlemen: — A few weeks 
since I was in the St^ite Library at Albany, 
searching for information relative to the early 
settlement of Kingston, and the establishment 
of the Reformed Dutch Church in this place, 
when I found among the Clinton papers the 
original of the letter, which it is deemed proper 
and appropriate should be read on this Cente- 
nary occasion. It was written by the Rev. 
Dr. George J. L. Doll, in behalf of the Consist- 
ory of the Church of Kingston, of which he 
was at that time pastor, and addressed to his 
Bxcellency George Clinton on the occasion of 
his inauguration as the first Governor of the 
State of New York. The Consistory was com- 
posed of the following named gentlemen: 
Elders — Johannes Van Keuren, Herman Roosa, 
Benjamin Ten Brough, Ezekiel Masten. Dea- 
cons — Genit Freer, Abraham Elmendorf, Con- 
rad Newkirk, Tob3''as Swart. Kerkmeester or 
Church Warden — William Eltring. 

"Dr. Doll was the last of that venerable 
catalogue of divines, commencing with the 
Rev. Hermanns Blom in 1659, who were thor- 
oughlj'- educated in the Universities of Hol- 
land and German3% and who, as pastors, 
preached in the Dutch language to the people 
in this place and its vicinity. His ministry 
commenced in 1775 and continued until his 
death, in 1811. He was the father-in-law of 
the late Hon. James Vanderpoel, and his 
granddaughter w^as the wife of John Van Bur- 
en, and daughter-in-law^ of the late ex-Presi- 
dent Van Buren. 

*'The Reformed Dutch Church, of which 



128 MEMOIRS OF 

Dr. Doll was pastor for the period of thirty- 
six years, was established in 1659 — that is, 
118 3^ears before the inauguration of George 
Clinton as the first Governor of the State of 
New York. 

''The Church edifice in which Dr. Doll 
commenced his ministry in Kingston was ded- 
icated to the worship of God by the Rev. 
George Wilhelmus Mancius, 29th November, 
1752, N. S. and was burned on the 16th of 
October, 1777, when Kingston was taken by 
the British under General Vaughn. 

"There are some reasons to believe that 
the British forces, at first, hesitated to burn 
the church, but when they learned of the 
patriotism of Dr. Doll and his Consistory, they 
no longer hesitated sacrilegiously to apply the 
torch to the house of God. It is only a few 
weeks since I first learned of the exist- 
ence of anj^thing ^^hich would give a true con- 
ception of this Church. And I take the liberty 
of holding up to your view the only picture in 
existence of this ancient and venerable house 
of the Lord. But I proceed to read the letter 
of Dr. Doll." 

(Copy of Letter.) 

"To His Excellency, George Clinton, 
Esqr., Governor, General and Commander-in- 
Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the 
Navy of the State of New York. 

"Maj^ It Please Your Excellenc}^: At the 
commencement of the New Constitution, and 
at the YQTj hour of j^our inauguration, the 
Minister, Elders, and Deacons of the Reformed 
Dutch Church of Kingston, in Consistory as- 
sembled, beg leave to congratulate your Ex- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 129 

cellency upon the highest honors the subject 
of a free State can possess, and to assure you 
of the part they bear in the public happiness 
of this occasion. 

''From the beginning of the present war 
the Consistory and the people of Kingston 
have been uniformlj^ attached to the cause of 
America, and justify upon the soundest princi- 
ples of religion and morality the glorious rev- 
olution of a free and oppressed country. 

''Convinced of the unrighteous design of 
Great Britain upon their civil and religious 
privileges, thej^ chose, without hesitation, 
rather to suffer with a brave people for a sea- 
son, than to enjoy the luxuries and friendship 
of a wicked and cruel nation. 

"With an inexpressible perseverance 
which thc}^ trust the greatest adversity and 
persecution will never change, they profess to 
3^our Excellency their interest in the Continent- 
al Union and loyalty to the State of New 
York. 

"While the Constitution is preserved in- 
violate, and the rulers steer by that conspicu- 
ous beacon, the people have the fairest pros- 
pects of happiness and success. With you 
the3^ choose to launch that future pilots may 
form a precedent from your vigilance, impar- 
tiality and firmness, and the sj^stem obtain an 
establishment that shall last for ages. For as 
nothing can be more agreeable to the con- 
scious patriot than the approbation of his 
countr\^, so nothing can more promote the 
general good than placing confidence in estab- 
lished characters, and raising merit to distin- 
guished power. 

"Take, then, with the acclamations and 



130 MEMOIRS OF 

fullest confidence of the ptiblic — take, Sir, the 
government into your hands and let the un- 
solicited voice of a whole State prevail upon 
you to enter upon the arduous task. 

"All ranks, in placing j^ou at their head, 
have pledged their lives and fortunes to sup- 
port and defend you in this exalted station, 
and the Consistory of Kingston cheerfully 
unite in the implicit stipulation, and promise 
you their praj^ers. 

"As a reformation in morals is the imme- 
diate object of the Consistorj'^ of Kingston, 
thc}^ esteem themselves especialh' happy in 
having cause to believe, that religious liberty 
(without which all other privileges are not 
worth enjoying) will be strenuously supported 
by your Excellency; and the^^ congratulate 
themselves and the State, that God has given 
them a Governor who understands, and there- 
fore loves the Christian Religion, and who in 
his administration will prove a terror to evil 
doers, and an example and patron to them 
that do well. 

"Signed b3^ order of the Consistorv. 

"Geo. J. L. Doll. Prmisr 
"August 2, 1777." 

"Dr. Doll was also the first President of 
the Board of Kingston Academy-, after its in- 
corporation, having been chosen to that posi- 
tion in 1802, being senior member of the 
Board. In 1803, President Doll addressed a 
letter to the Regents of the University seeking 
aid for the institution, which was represented 
to be 'equal in usefulness to anj^ like establish- 
ment in the State. ' 

"The Regents responded with a gift of 
$500. The following year the^^ were memori- 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 131 

alized for sanction and aid in the establish- 
ment of a college. But that appeal was not 
successful. The Regents thought the scheme 
inexpedient, and so the matter was dropped. 

"More than a quarter of a century ago 
the following article appeared in one of the 
Kingston papers: 
''Mr. Editor: 

"Your correspondent has been engaged in 
collecting some reminiscences of the former 
pastors of the (1st) Reformed Dutch Church 
of Kingston. The records of the church fur- 
nish very meagre material on the subject, and 
with reference to some of them, none what- 
ever. This is the case with regard to the Rev. 
Dr. George J. L. Doll, the last one of the list of 
venerable pastors who officiated in the Dutch 
Language. 

"Almost in despair of obtaining any au- 
thentic information respecting Dr. Doll, your 
correspondent was advised to write to an 
aged Grand-daughter* of the Dominie resid- 
ing in Delaware Co. From this source he has 
received the following items of information 
which it is desirable should be published, not 
merely for the information of the present gen- 
eration, but for their preservation as a part of 
the history of that church. 

"This Grand-daughter of Dr. Doll informs 
your correspondent, that although at the 
time of his decease she was very young, she 
has a perfect recollection ot him. On reaching 
America (in 1770) he went to Fort Orange, 
(Albany) where he remained five j^ears, 
preaching in the Dutch and French Languages. 
Then he accepted a "Call" to the First Dutch 

'^'Mrs. C. C. Q. Barber, of Colchester, Delaware County, N. Y. 



182 MEMOIRS OF 

Church of Kingston, where he remained until 
1808, a period of more than thirty-five years. 
In consequence of his failing health, the Rev. 
John Gosman was called to be his colleague 
and was reqtiired to preach three-fourths of 
the time in the English Language leaving the 
other fourth to be filled bj^ Dr. Doll, with 
Dutch preaching. Dr. Doll continued, how- 
ever, as his health permitted, to preach for the 
pleasure and edification of his fiock — the old 
Dutch People — on Sabbath afternoons. 

"In May 1809, he went to live with his 
youngest daughter, Mrs. James Vanderpoel, of 
Kinderhook, where he died March 28th, 1811, 
and was buried in the Private Cemetery of the 
late John J. Pruyn, Esqr. No monument 
marks his place of rest. Your correspondent 
w^ould state for the benefit of the church of 
v^hich Dr. Doll had been so long a pastor, that 
he had been informed that its Consistory 
offered to have his remains brought to Kings- 
ton and interred beneath the old Church edi- 
fice in which he had preached so long and 
faithfully, beside those of his wife, according 
to the custom of those da3^s, but the friends at 
Kinderhook preferred that he should be buried 
at that place, where some of his family are in- 
terred. 

"An appropriate sermon was preached 
for Dr. Doll on the Sabbath succeeding his 
death, by the Rev. John Gosman, in the 
church at Kingston, from Revelations 14th 
chapter and 13th verse (Blessed are the dead 
which die in the Lord, from henceforth, etc.) 

"The following Obituar3^ notice was pub- 
lished in one of our village papers at the time, 
a copy of which has been forwarded to your 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 133 

correspondent from the source above alluded 
to: 

DIED. 

"On Tlnirsda^v last at Kinderhook, the 
Rev. Dr. George J. L.Doll, late minister of the 
Reformed Dutch Church in this village, in the 
72nd year of his age. 

"One who knew his virtues and shared 
his confidence has furnished us with the fol- 
lowing outline of his character. 'His unblem- 
ished life— his ardent zeal in the cause of relig- 
ion, the purity of his life and morals, and the 
Christian meekness w^hich adorned his charac- 
ter proclaimed him the messenger of truth 
The legate of the skies. 

" 'Although he had no relatives in this 
country, the unspotted excellence of his life 
had attached to him many distinguished 
friends. He had no enemies, his unwearied 
pams to spread the Gospel blessings, and to 
preach Christ and him crucified, had endeared 
him to every member of his flock. By him the 
violated law^ spoke out its thunders; and by 
him, m strains as sw^eet as Angels use the Gos- 
pel whispered peace.' 

"A funeral sermon adapted to the occa- 
sion will be dehvered in the Church in wdiich 
Dr. Doll was so long a pastor, on Sabbath 
morning next, by the Rev. Mr. Gosman. 

"Dr. Doll w-as born in 1739, and married 
Christina Ettkin, of Manheim, Germany, by 
whom he had five children: Adam T Doll 
John Jacob Doll, William Henrv Doll, Sarah 
Doll and Anna Doll, w^ho married the late 
Judge Vanderpoel, of Kinderhook, and the 
daughter w^ith wdiom he resided after the 



134 MEMOIRS OF 

death of his wife, at Kingston, N. Y., October 
18th, 1805, aged sixt^^-three j-ears and six 
months. Rev. Dr. Doll's eldest son, Adam T. 
Doll, married, 1st, Cornelia Tappen, and after 
her death he married Alaria Christina Beau- 
man, third daughter of Colonel Sebastian 
Beauman, of Revolutionary fame. His second 
son, John Jacob, never married. His third 
son, Dr. William Henr\^ Doll, married the sec- 
ond daughter of Colonel Beauman, Sophia 
Christina. His eldest daughter, Sarah, mar- 
ried Leonard Ten Broeck. 

"Rev. Dr. Doll's son, William Henrj^ was 
probably the first physician located in the 
town of Wawarsing. Dr. Benjamin R. Bevier, 
father of the present ph^^sician of that name, 
was for a time a partner with Dr. William H. 
Doll, and became his successor. 

"Dr. Doll was also the second supervisor 
of the town of Wawarsing, having held the 
office 1810 to 1812, and again 1820 to 
1821. He represented the County in the 
State Assembly in 1817. The Doctor was a 
man of much abilit^^ influential in the County 
and with a wide and valuable acquaintance in 
the State. Martin Van Buren, when Presi- 
dent, was a frequent visitor at his house. 

"Being on intimate terms with the Living- 
stons, Dr. William Doll purchased a large tract 
of land of the proprietor of Livingston Manor, 
who then owned about one half of the town of 
Rockland. This property came into the pos- 
session of his son, George J. L. Doll, who went 
up there to reside, and who married Nancj^ 
Overton, eldest daughter of David and Eliza- 
beth Overton, the early pioneers of that reg- 
ion, and inentioned at some length by James 
B. Quinlan, in his history of Sullivan County. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 135 

"George J. L. Doll continued to reside on 
his farm at Livingston Manor until his death, 
September 16th, 1872, but his health failing, 
his son, Alexander, took possession of the 
farm but his father continued to reside with 
him until the latter's decease. 

"Alexander, son of George J. L. Doll, died 
at Livingston Manor, April 2, 1890. 

"The Ellenville Journal of April 11, 1890, 
in connection with a notice of the death of 
Alexander Doll, says: 'Deceased was a thrifty 
farmer, a worthy Christian man and a highly 
respected citizen. He had been sick a month, 
having been attacked with the prevalent di- 
sease, influenza, which was succeeded by a 
fever. ' 

"Mr. Doll had been for many years a 
member of the Methodist Church. He also 
belonged to the Manor Lodge of F. and A. M., 
and his funeral on Friday was with Masonic 
honors. He had been twice married, his first 
wife was Miss Hannah Yoorhees, of Beaverkill. 
His second wife was Mrs. Sarah Gillett, who 
survives him, with a son by a former husband. 

"Mr. Doll leaves no children. He is sur- 
vived by a brother, Beauman, who resides in 
the vicinity of Livingston Manor, and b}' four 
sisters, all of w^hom were present at the funer- 
al: Mrs. Sarah S. Yoorhees, of Beaverkill, Mrs. 
Agnes J. La Rue, of Campbell Hall, Mary 
Christina, wife of Eli W. Fairchild, of Monti- 
cello, and Mrs. Charles L. Barber, residing in 
Michigan. Another sister, Rachel, wife of 
Hiram Beach, died several years ago. 

"Their father also is dead, but the mother 
survives,* and resided with Mr. Doll. Alex- 

♦Mrs. Doll departed this life September 29th, 189s, at the home of her 
daughter, Mrs. E. W. Fairchild. 



136 MEMOIRS OF 

ander's father was George J. L. Doll, who was 
the eldest of a large famih- of children of Dr. 
William Henry DoU. a distinguished citizen of 
the town of Wa warsing,* w^ho resided in Napa- 
noch, the premises now owned and occupied 
by Mr. L. D. B. Hoor nbeek, and long known 
as 'the Doll house.' 

''The only living member of Dr. William 
H. Doll's famil3'- is Mr. Sebastian Beauman 
Doll,t now residing with his niece, Mrs. Loui- 
sa B. Hoor nbeek, at Napanoch. 

"The late Mrs. Jacob S. Van Wagener, 
mother of J. J. Van Wagener and C. T. Van 
Wagener, and Mrs. John T. DeWitt was one 
of the number. Mrs. Hoor nbeck's mother, 
A. C. Saulpaugh, now deceased, w^as a daugh- 
ter of Dr. William H. Doll; his youngest 
daughter, Sarah, married Mr. Samuel Rock- 
well, of Ellenville, but died wathout leaving 
children. 

"Dr. Doll and wife and many of his chil- 
dren are buried in the old cemeter^^ at Wa- 
warsing where repose the remains of many of 
their ancestors. Notably those of Mrs. Chris- 
tina Wetzell, daughter of Dr. Ernest, of Man- 
heim, German^-, a martyr of the Reformed re- 
ligion at the Stake. 

"Miss Ernest came to America with her 
older sister, Mrs. Maria Regina Kemper, who 
emigrated to this countrj^ from Caub-on-the 
Rhine in Germany J wdth her familj^ consisting 
of her husband, Jacob Kemper, and two 
daughters, Anna Gertrude and Maria Sophia, 
afterwards Mrs. John Morton, of New York, 

-Named by the Indians and meaning "The Blackbird's Nest." 
+Now deceased, December 5, 1896. 
tin mi. 



COLONEL SEBASTIAN BEAUMAN. 137 

stjded by the British the 'Rebel Banker,' as he 
converted the most of his property into money 
and deposited it in the Loan Office during the 
War of the Revolution." 



THE END. 



NOTE : The spelling of the name Beauman seems to 
have been changed to Bauman at some thiie during the life 
of the subject of this Memoir. In all documents that 
have been copied, the spelling is retained as given therein. 
The name was originally spelled with the "e." 



In the copying of old documents the forms of speech, 
spelling, and capitalization have been retained as they were 
therein. 



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